Congratulations Class of 2014!
Welcome Class of 2018! As the first day of college approaches many of you have high expectation as to what the college life is all about. Here are three truths about college!
The first truth about college is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE DECIDED on a major to make sure you have a secure future. You can go to college and explore all the different paths you want to experience before you decide on one that really captures your attention. And if you have already decided on a major, its perfectly normal to change your major after you've taken a course that interests you more. College is a time to go out and explore your options, before you decide what you want to do in the future. Just because everyone else around you has their mind set up doesn't mean you should feel pressured into choosing something that isn't going to make you happy. Take this time to go and find what really interest you and what you are passionate about. I’m a Liberal Studies major and I have thought about changing my major multiple times but I never do because teaching others is something that I enjoy and would love to do in the future. I love working with kids and being able to help them find something they're passionate about really keeps me motivated to finish my career. Who knows maybe in a year I’ll want to be a counselor instead of teacher. I have so many careers to explore if i want to change my major. It’s perfectly fine if you aren't sure of what you want to do. College is only the beginning, you still have time to develop and grow until you find what you're passionate about.
The second truth about college is to make sure to STUDY! In High School many people would open up the book the night before and read a couple chapters and they would be ready for the test. Others wouldn't even open the book and would look for online summaries or ask their friends and sometimes the reply was “it’s just one grade.” I would say that all the time and when I first arrived at CSUN I had the same mentality. In high school there are many ways to bring your grade up, there are constant tests, essays, homework assignment and even extra credit. When a professor has a class of 230+ students they don’t have time to grade all that work, so they might only assign a midterm and a final. If you have one of those professors, make sure to follow the reading schedule, studying the night before is going to make you feel overwhelmed and instead of learning the material all you can think is about why you didn't study before! You will need to know the material in order to pass the class, its better to study in advance then to retake the class because you thought you could find an online article an hour before the class. I learned this when I felt like my brain was about to explode from the studying I did the night before. In that moment I learned that it makes a difference to study before the exam to make sure you know more on the material then to know less.
The last truth about college is that you will CHANGE. Don't be scared to go outside of your comfort zone! There are so many people on campus all of different race, beliefs, cultures, even different parts of the country. Go out and meet new people. College is a fresh start where nobody knows who you are or where you come from. Be the person you want to be! In high school so many people try and be someone they're not and most of us have gone to school with the same group of people but in college you meet tons of new people that don't know anything about you. Be yourself and don't be afraid to meet new people. You will gain a new perspective of life because you become more independent and you get freedom that you might have not had in high school. College gives you a chance to grow and become the person you want to be, but might have been afraid to show. College gives you the opportunity to give you a new perspective in life and lets you change and grow into a new person. As I finish my first year at CSUN, I feel like I have gained a new perspective on life that I didn't have a year ago and now I'm not scarred of change! (word count781)
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