Helpful Hints You Should Know As A College Freshman

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Five years ago I started a new chapter in my life. Some say it is the happiest time in an individual’s life. Others say it is the most stressful time in one’s life. For me, it was a mixture of emotions that I didn’t know exactly how to cope with. As I take a look back now there are 5 main thing I wish I would have known as a college freshmen that I believe could have helped me accumulate the most knowledge from my college experience. In today’s blog post, I will share these tips with you!

Tip #1: Be Open-minded – College is a great time to grow into your skin. As you mature you find that your hobbies and interests may change. If you keep an open mind, opportunities to experience new activities will arise and by willingly trying new things you may find that you have a talent or ability in an activity that could play a key role in your future happiness.

·      Tip #2: Roommate Relationships – Most people have horror stories about roommates throughout their dorm experiences. You don’t have to like your roommates but you do have to co-exist in small spaces. In order to make your experience more enjoyable try not to take things too seriously, remember that finals are a stressful part of school for everyone; so don’t take school stresses out on others. This will help eliminate the tension at home keeping your house a safe haven. Having good relationships with your roommates can help your networking circle and help you further your people skills. Learn from each other and forgive each other for any differences. These relationships can blossom into life long friendships!

·      Tip # 3: Professor Knowledge – Your professors are great assets to your friendship pool. Make sure to keep a professional attitude when working with a professor. This way, you will be able to ask for a reference later on in your education or even after you have graduated. Professors are also experienced and they possess wisdom that can be a great benefit to your future.

·      Tip #4: Stay Healthy – Living a healthy lifestyle can greatly affect the way in which you perform with your daily scholastics. It can also help keep stress levels to a minimum. A great resource on healthy eating habits can be found here. 

·      Tip #5: Have Fun – Work is important but it is also important to balance your work life with your social life. Having fun helps you release endorphins creating a less stressful student, making your work more focused and precise. 

If you would like more tips and tricks to make your college experience more enjoyable you can visit here.

Steve Jobs: How To Live Before You Die

The most impactful businesses usually have intriguing stories behind their brand. TED.com is a website that hosts many videos that showcase diverse and inspirational speeches. One in particular that I would like to discuss is a graduation speech that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University entitled “How To Live Before You Die.”

            Throughout his speech he discussed three main stories from his life that were very inspiring to me, as his speech was geared toward recent graduates.  One in particular I would like to discuss pertains to his struggle with college and how he was never actually a college graduate. He discusses the reasoning behind his choice to drop out of the required classes for his chosen degree and how he started attending lessons that just carried a personal interest for him, with no actual direction or final education. One class in particular that made a huge impact on his future career path was a class dedicated to calligraphy. The class discussed typefaces and the psychology behind using different styles. His passion was sparked by the nature of creativity that surrounded the class. It was ten years later when he began the construction of the Macintosh Company that he brought back the love of calligraphy to the designs of his computer. Without that class he might have never had the idea to design a computer with such an artistically creative look that the Mac computers now have, making them successful and unique when compared to other computer programs.

In his speech Jobs states that, “You can never connect the dots looking forward” and that you have to follow your heart and passion while having faith that everything will work out how it is suppose to. Then, and only then, will you be able to look back and connect the dots once you are finished. This speech was very inspiring to me personally. It reminded me that the most important thing to remember is to love what you do. That is when your personal happiness will flourish, and if you follow your passion you are bound to accomplish great things. You can learn more about Steve Jobs at http://www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805.