College life and discovery

If there is one rule that we should really all follow in college it would be to try to get through college without any major regrets. I mean sure we are all going to have that day where we regret wearing that pair of shoes that gave us blisters, or eating that pita pit that made us sick, or even watching that television show instead of studying for a big test, but when it comes to the end of the year its the big things that I plan not to regret. I don’t want to regret not going on that trip with friends, or not staying for those extra few hours at THON, and I especially do not want to regret how I spent my days in college. I mean sure everyone says that to enjoy school you work hard and play hard, but for many people playing hard is different. Some like to go crazy on the weekends and they do not care if they remember tomorrow, some like to just lounge around and take in the crazy week they have had, and then some want to find a middle ground where they can relax and still go out with friends. Everyone is different, and not to keep hearkening on that annoying speech every parent gives on finding yourself, but its true. College really is a time to find yourself, and not necessarily finding things like just your fashion or what major you want to pursue. College is a time to find who you really are, who you want your friends to be, how you like to spend your free time, essentially in college limitations are in themselves limited, in college you have the chance to become a night owl without your parents telling you to go to sleep, the chance to be a vegetarian with all of these food options at your finger tips, or even the option to find out how you love to spend your free time, whether its playing video games or going out every night. College is to learn about your future profession sure, but its also to find yourself and what you want your future to be like.

Past just social discoveries, its a time to find out what you are interested in terms of education or activities. This means go out and join all of those clubs, sign up for student government even if you are a math major, go take a pottery class if you are a science major, and just go out and find something outside of your major that you want to do. Be well rounded and explore places outside of your normal comfort zone. Take a leap of faith, go and find new boundaries. And don’t be afraid to explore without a friend, don’t pass up an opportunity to join a club or go to a concert just because no one else will go with you, be adventurous, make new friends, go and get out their and find your own way instead of hiding behind people that you already know, you would be surprised how friendly people on campus really are.

And lastly, just because you think that you won’t like it, then you should still try something, that is within reason. Last semester I tried gym classes, eating healthier, and playing video games. I really liked the gym classes and even still go to some of them, I continue to attempt to eat healthier because it really does make me feel better, and I continue to play some of the video games because it turns out that I did really like them. So far this semester I have tried cycling classes, being a vegetarian, and pottery classes. I learned that I like meat way to much to be a vegetarian, that cycling classes hurt my butt way to much with that little seat, but that I really do like pottery and that it is a great way to release some tension. 

Overall, just use college to go out a try something new, to learn how to be alone at times, and how to be in a group during others, and above all just learn what suits you, try what you want, and decide what you like.

4 thoughts on “College life and discovery

  1. Khushboo Attarwala

    College is a great time to discover things because there’s so many opportunities here. No matter what you want to do there’s probably a place at Penn State where you can do it. It’s the perfect place to discover what you like and what you don’t without being afraid of messing up too much.

  2. Jennifer

    The one thing I love about college is the fee time (although it seems like we have none) to just discover the little things about campus or new weird facts about your friends. Giving everything a chance is probably the biggest lesson to learn at college!

  3. Brittany Ayers

    I like this notion of not regretting anything. College really is the only time in life to literally do whatever you want, to grow and to learn who you are as a person. It is also the first time we are on our own and it is interesting to me to think about college in this way- a place to learn to be with a lot of people and nobody at the same time. Awesome post!

  4. Josh Larimer

    Discovering things in college is the way to succeed. We are here to learn to become better at whatever it is we are going to do in our lives. I really liked this post :]

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