Wisdom doesn’t always come from the most traditional of sources. Not Plato, Mark Twain, nor Albert Einstein can sum up the post-secondary experience better than the character Chef did in an episode of ‘South Park’: ‘There’s a time and a place for everything. And it’s called college.’
Indeed, you are all here for more than just a slip of paper to help you get a job. Many of you will have both your 18th and 21st birthdays here, many of you arrived completely alone, and surely many of you are intimidated by the situation in which you now find yourselves.
But don’t let any of that stop you from getting everything that you can from college. The only enemy you have at the University is fear, and if you conquer that, you’re almost certain to fully enjoy your experiences.
College is about trying new things. You’ll be exposed to new philosophies, different kinds of people and an atmosphere of studious discipline juxtaposed against raucous partying.” The key, as with all things in life, is balance.
In the last 50 years or so, college has become less a privilege of the elite or furiously determined and more a mandatory extension of high school.” This has one serious advantage: it extends the time frame in which you are allowed to make mistakes by four years.
Don’t make the fatal flaw that many arrivals do: treating your time here as an opportunity to star in your own real-life version of ‘Animal House.’ “Before you know it, you may find yourself back at home in the basement waking up at noon every day and eating SpaghettiOs (which is fine if your goal is mediocrity), but it’s much better to wake up at noon and eat SpaghettiOs here.
New friends are everywhere in college. “Parties are a great place to meet people, but it is important to be smart about your social habits.” This is a test to see how well you use your freedom, and the next four years will be the freest of your life.
But don’t use that freedom solely for the purpose of unleashing the little hellion that has been growing inside you all those years you spent following a curfew. “Make use of the tremendous resources now at your disposal and better yourself in as many ways as you can, or else the real world could hit you like a ton of bricks.
The University is primarily a place of learning, so learn from everything.”Take classes which interest you even if they lie outside your chosen professional field.” Discipline yourself and surround yourself with people who complement you best.
You’ve been given a great luxury – a virtual extension of childhood into your earliest years of adulthood. “Do not let it go to waste.
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