What I’ve Learned: The College Years
June 20th, 2005 by Sarin
Esquire magazine has a cool section every month where they ask an older celebrity what they’ve learned in life. It’s presented in rapid succession in a bulleted list, which always makes for a good read. I wanted to try out this format, to get the basic gist of the most important lessons of the last 4 years.
For those that follow me pretty closely, at the beginning of last year, I was going through a period of frustration because I was lacking a direction in life. It will surely be different if you are in a different major, but I surely feel an area of study such as Business and more specifically, Information Systems cannot be taught in a classroom. Since that period, I’ve reevaluated what I wanted to accomplish and what matters to me most. I “mentally” gave up on college as I didn’t think it was taking me anywhere, but in reality it made me become a better student for hopes of moving on. In my opinion, 4 years of work hasn’t made me feel like I have learned anything except for what I have learned about myself. It is in the details, if you squint can you see the big picture. Because of that, I would like to thank all individuals up and down my college years for teaching me what I really learned in college.
-Go big, or don’t go at all.
-In high school, you pretended to listen to the “cool” music to be considered cool. In college, you totally ignored all the “cool” music to get to be cool.
-I spent 4 years in high school trying to stand out. And then I spent 4 years in college trying to fit back in again.
-The Freshman 15 is not a myth. However if you happened to gain 15 pounds because you ate at Philbrook, theoretically you should classify in the Freshman 30 category. Because c’mon now, who likes their food?
-There are friends, family, and acquaintances. Know the difference.
-If you stand out or are recognisable in some way, it really works in your favor.
-Any study skills you learned in high school are ineffective in higher education. You WILL relearn how to study all over again.
-If you had to pull an all-nighter, you probably deserved it.
-Most college girls didn’t totally impress me, but most of them were hot in one way or another.
-My english professor quoted Ben Franklin saying “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see”. I never really knew what either of these two men were talking about.
-The laziest students on campus are liberal arts majors. There are also the ones who are completely inconversable and lack any self esteem. Just a generalization though. Didn’t mean to offend.
-Students can suprise professors. But professors almost never suprise students.
-Leadership can be as easy as speaking first and speaking loudly. However don’t think that it’s all it takes to make you a good leader.
-If anybody moans about how little sleep they got last night, remember, you’ve been to college. Laugh silently.
-I used to complain about the dumbest things. But then I remembered that I have no idea what hard work and hard life is about.
-I never got anything done, until I learned to appreciate coffee.
-Speaking of coffee, I’m 22, yet sometimes prefer to have my coffee black. I am way over my head now.
-You become more like your parents everyday.
-If it seems like everybody walks faster than you, it’s obvious you are out of shape.
-Sometimes an all beer diet is more effective than a no carb diet. Just think, the next day you put your stomach through so much misery the night before you can’t even stomach a grain of rice.
-Everything can be improved.
-To me, there are 2 measures of a man. His handshake, and his shoes. You can tell alot about somebody in just those 2 details.
-I always hate being cheap, as I believe being broke is temporary, but thinking poor is eternal.
-You really do your best work last minute.
-Less is always more.
-Lessons learned from high school sports prove more beneficial than originally imagined.
-As you get older, you get a better sense of people eye’s on you.
-When you look the part, you play the part, you are the part.
-Girls look and make conclusions on everything from your appearance to your mannerisms. Unfortunately, a future boss acts the same way.
-You end up getting things you never really put much effort in. But if you really want something, you’ll stop, studder, and doubt yourself to failure if you forget to pick yourself up.
-Most likely, a one hour nap will be better than a 9 hour coma.
-The smartest people I know, never watched television news. In fact, I never really learn anything, unless I read it first.
-They don’t call it the old college try for nuthin’.
-Being poor and broke without denial means the best times of your life are happening as your speak.
-When you watch your phone, it never rings.
-I find myself asking “Am I a bad person?” probably too much. I guess I can’t please everybody if I try.
-My best friends are the one who never saw my nationality as a conversation piece. To me, these friendships are eternal. In the end, it’s what’s between me and you that really matters.
-If you feel screwed, saying yourself “what comes around goes around” always gives you quick relief.
-Hate, and the act of hating, is the worst energy you could expel.
-There was too much finger pointing and stereotype bashing at my school. I’ve always reminded myself to never stoop through such 3rd grade nonsense.
-Everything is all in your head, if you think about it.
-Film director Quentin Tarantino said that if you want to make a movie, just make it. Don’t talk about it, don’t wait for the right time, just make it. Which leads me to…
-If you have a vision/dream, don’t talk about it, don’t wait for the right time, just do it. If you don’t, you’ve already lost the effort.
-Nobody forces you to quit, the biggest doubter is always yourself.
Most of this list was made up on the spot, save for several which stayed in my head the past week. I might edit this list again, but each point has a backstory that I can relate to if you really wanted to hear it. Till then, take care.
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Quite a list, Sarin. And it’s probably cliche to say something along the lines of wisdom beyond calendar years, but sometimes the simple concepts are the hardest to wrap heads around, or accept.
You’re right in saying that the biggest doubter is usually yourself - to overcome that or at least allay it isn’t easy. I think sometimes people, myself included, are afraid of the word action. Or the action of it.
So keep the list growing. ‘Cause once you say you’re done, you’ve only just begun. Sorry.
‘Cause once you say you’re done, you’ve only just begun’
Couldn’t have said it any better myself.