Things Emily Has Learned
1. College isn't that hard. I was freaked out of my mind to start college. I was scared to move away form home, to take harder classes, to buy my own groceries, to live with strangers...just everything. I was so overwhelmed by the newness of it all and by how much of my life was out of my control, but it honestly ended up being just fine. If you were like me and took a ton of honors, AP, and CE classes in high school then you will totally be ready for college classes. I still have had to work my butt off and try way hard, but it wasn't anything I wasn't capable of. I was lucky enough to live so close to my siblings and not too far away from my parents. I ended up seeing my family way more than most pepole get to, so honestly I only had time to miss my cat. College is too fun to miss home anyways, plus you gain a nice support system here if you are someone who gets home sick.
2. Let go of the little things. Living with roommate has definetly taught me not to sweat the small stuff. Obviously this is something that I can still work on, but I am way better at it then I was before. Learn to prioritize what you get frustrated at. Like yes it is super annoying if your roomate doesn't do their dishes or someone eats your newly purchased tub of cookie dough, but is making a big deal out of it really worth it? You have to live with these people and if you are constantly being bothered by the little things, you are not going to enjoy your life. Learn to let things slide and accept the mistakes of others because we all make them.
3. Learn who you are. Now I know you can't really put a time table on self actualization, but if possible try to learn who you are like now. Haha, I know we are always changing and growing and always learning new things about ourselves, but if you take genuine time to understand who you are and who you want to be then you are going to be way better off. At college I have seen a bunch of lost people making stupid decisions and losing control of their lives becasue they never really had a plan. They haven't quite yet figured out who they are. If you know your morals, your goals, your boundaries, your characteristics, and your motives, then you are more likely to make rational decisions that fit within the life you want. I honestly don't know a ton about life or people or anything, but I do know who I am and where I want to go. That has helped me so much this year.
4. Be happy with right now. I say this is something I learned, but honestly I suck at this. I struggle way hard with being anxious for the future and negative abou the present. I'm always like oh man I'd be happier if I were just graduated, or I'll be happier once I'm married or I can finally be happy once this trial goes away and blah blah blah. The reality is I'm never going to be happy if I just don't learn to love every stage of my life. Being a teacher and a wife and a mom all sound like more fufilling roles than just being a student, but that's where I am in life right now. There are so many great and exciting things about being this young and independent. I blame Pinterest and Instagram for making me so eager to fall in love and have cute babies when I'm way too young to be thinking about those things haha. I'm learning to love every day and every part of this time in my life. It's good to plan ahead and prepare for the things you want for your future, but don't forget to take time to enjoy the present. We won't be able to get anywhere if you don't take advantage of right now.
5. Take care of yourself. This was kind of a weird thing I learned that I have never really thought of before. Right now I should be the most important person in my life. I'm not trying to sound super like self centered or anything, but it's kind of just true. I'm the type of person who tends to want other people to be happy even if it isn't what would make me the happiest...I'm sure most humans who want to be good people are this way as well. In general that is a good selfless characteristic, but sometimes you've just gotta do your own thing. This year has been full of watching others make big decisions and me making big decisions. When it comes to important things in life, you have to put yourself first right now. Obviously it's different when you have like a spouse and children, but for me that's how it needs to be. I need to be close to the Lord and make decisions that he wants for me, even if it may inconveniece others. That has been a challenging thing for me to learn, because it kind of goes against everything I've been before. But it's true...take care of yourself. Be a good person and considerate and understanding, but take care of you. Also going along with this message: get enough freaking sleep, don't do drugs, buy healthy food, drink a lot of water, don't go to sketchy parties, and clean your room. Ok ya...just treat yourself right.
I'm way grateful for my first year of college. It failed some of my expectations, but exceeded some of my others. Everyone will have a different experience with life so don't really have a set idea in your head. Life is great and wonderful, even if it isn't what you wanted it to be. I'm super excited for next year and all good times it's going to bring me. My little room of 305 will always be so dear to my heart. I have shared so many tender/hilaroius memories with my rommates in that little apartment of ours, and I'm so blessed because of that. I better soak in these last two weeks, becasue I already miss it.
Thanks for sharing Em! You are so wise hehe :) But seriously, I loved reading about your experience and am glad you had such a great year. Love you.
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