2008 Woodie Awards
Thoughts from a lightly seasoned student
In high school, college was a mysterious, intangible thing. College was only real to high schoolers in National Lampoon movies and guidance counselor offices. As a high school student the only thing that was on the brain was that incredibly good looking guy in math or your teacher’s bad breath. Well, that’s what it was for me at least. Teachers always told me horror stories about evil professors and nightmarish term papers. They gave us advice at graduation like “Don’t pick an eight o’clock class if you aren’t a morning person.” It was practical advice, but did we listen?
Now that November has just reared its fiery blustery head, my first semester as a college student is coming to an end. I have accomplished quite a bit for my first few months as an APSU student. For one, I learned that dormitory bathrooms lock from the outside, leaving you stuck in your bathroom at the mercy of whoever hears you. More importantly, I learned how to manage my time. I have noticed one huge difference between high school and college is time. My first week here, I was surprised to learn actual class takes up maybe 10-20 percent of your time! (That is, if you choose to wake up for class.) The other 80-90 percent of the time is allotted to whatever the student desires. Whether devoted to sports, Greek, jobs or maybe even studying, it is important to use this time constructively between sleeping and eating (which I have found are optional).
College really is what you make it. We hear this and other canned slogans at orientation about twenty-four times an hour, but it is actually true. I discovered that although it might seem a professor is full of crock, he or she actually knows what you are going through. They wouldn’t be here were it not for them surviving college too. I’m aware that I cannot give advice like a seasoned student just yet, but maybe someday I will. That is what is so wonderful about higher education — you learn and you change.
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Words from The All State staff members.
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