I KNEW what I was going to do with my life for as long as I can remember. And somehow, from the ideals of friendships, relationships and academic life to the realities of drama, breakups and procrastination, I made it through the labyrinth that is high school life with the same dreams I started with. Go to U.Va., go to law school, get a job, make a difference and somewhere in there meet the woman that will make it all worthwhile. Although high school taught me more cheesy life lessons than a poorly written teen melodrama, coming to the University was probably the first real threat my dreams ever faced. Surrounded by students who were as smart as if not smarter than me I went from becoming the big fish in the pond to the average fish in the ocean (cliché, I know). Now that I've completed my first year at the University and it is you (my reader) who is daunted by a quickly approaching first year, I figure it to be my task, nay, my duty to pass on to you the lessons of time -- more specifically, the lessons of my first year at the University.
First of all, take it easy your first semester. College isn't necessarily about how smart you are; instead, it tests your ability to time and handle multiple tasks concomitantly. I, the quixotic and ambitious fool that I am, entered the University taking 17 credits first semester, and found myself repeatedly more overwhelmed than my peers who were taking 13 to 15 credits. The truth is, first semester allows you to get a grip on the knacks that facilitate operating the college machine, a machine that requires a delicate balance of work and play, with a dash of everyday college activities such as getting on AIM and showering with flip flops. Ergo, while figuring out how to work this machine, you'll regret having taken too many classes, as I surely did.
More importantly, if you're anything like me, the intensity of your freakish worrying about grades will follow you, if not intensify, upon your entering the University. This vehement worrying will not only slow you down here at the University, it will stomp all over your potential to have fun. If you're thinking this is the part where I show you the parallel between my advice and my life, you're exactly right.
First semester, I swaggered into the College of Arts and Sciences carrying with me a determination to focus only on grades, and I figured, if I had free time, that it was acceptable to donate it to friends and Rugby Road (oh, you'll see). To say the least, my success was on par with the hit movie "Gigli." I ended up succumbing to Ronald Rugby at inopportune times and spending most of my time cycling through false self-made promises to study, inefficacious methods of studying and long nights before exams preparing for classes that could have been dealt with much easier.
Equipped with the lessons of first semester, I approached second semester with a more balanced and efficient approach. I kept up with my classes by taking advantage of time that I would have wasted first semester. For example, first semester, I spent Friday telling myself I wasn't going out, so in turn I rationalized watching TV and hanging around the dorms, promising myself I'd just study when everyone else went out. And surprise, surprise -- I went out every time. Second semester, I learned to spend the pre-dinner Friday hours getting work done and rewarding myself with a beer (or 12) later that night. And simply put, it worked on all levels. My first semester grades were more disappointing than a Republican attempt at bipartisanship, while my second semester grades were nearly all A's (I hate you, language requirement). A few other less important things improved as well, such as my happiness and overall health.
When I was first handed my assignment to write an advice column, I figured I'd just write some pretentious column about ideals that even I couldn't maintain. And somewhere in the desultory harangue above, there's a heart full of advice, but when it comes down to it, if anyone asked me for first-year advice, this is what I would tell them: Be honest -- we all need to have fun so admit that you need time for yourself; be efficient -- don't let hours go by unused; be realistic -- take classes according to your needs and humanly limitations; and finally, have fun -- like Tom Petty said, "The work never ends but college does."
Sian Kian is a Cavalier Daily columnist. He can be reached at skian@cavalierdaily.com.
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