What I Wish I Knew in College

Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. There are so many things I wish I knew in those four years, and so many things I wish I could tell my younger self! While of course I can’t go back, I do hope I can relay a few messages to my younger readers.

What I Wish I Knew in College

Be independent. Chances are, you are away from home. Take this time to discover who you are without your parents, teachers, or friends telling you who you should be. I’ll never regret being a business major, but I was never really meant to go into merchandising like I thought. Everyone tried to get me to go into a practical direction, but look at me now, definitely not doing something “practical”!

Keep coffee handy. There will be a lot of long nights. Some of it will be for school work, but my all-nighters were more often extracurricular activities and things that I actually wanted to do. Every Green Beer Day we woke up at 3am to start the day- throughout which, coffee was absolutely necessary. I just wish I knew about Stok Cold Brew then!

Don’t do something just because your friends are doing it. From drinking, to going to a party, to joining a certain club or sorority, none of it will bring you joy unless you truly want it. You know what’s best for you, trust your instincts. I rushed my freshman year, deciding at the last-minute, because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I wasn’t into it, so I ended up dropping out. Once I actually did my research, and realized it was something I wanted to do, I rushed again my sophomore year and became an AOII.

Find the rec center.  Look, no one wants to face it, but the Freshman 15 are very real. Your organized activities suddenly stop, there isn’t a coach or a parent around to remind you to practice or run laps, so this is when you’ll find out how self motivated you really are. I started running during my sophomore year and discovered my love for the sport!

Remember to have fun! Yes, your grades and classes are important, but don’t skip all of the best parts of college! Parties, clubs, meet ups, coffee dates, actual dates, all of which are an important part of your college experience.

It’s not real life. Your college days are one of a kind. There is no comparison in the real world to what you’ll experience there, and college is most definitely not the real world. Enjoy your time there, learn everything that you can, and know that it’s ok to change your mind. It’s ok to not be perfect, to not have a fully baked plan, and to have your plan completely crumble the second you leave.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SToK Cold Brew Coffee. The opinions and text are all mine.