Week 2: Prompt 2: College Still Ain't Easy

Last year when I wrote this blog post (https://profbooneeng1302.blogspot.com/2017/02/week-2-prompt-2-college-aint-easy.html)… I suggested that college ain’t easy.  Well, it still ain’t easy.

Here's one other previous post I posted with college advice... https://profbooneeng1302.blogspot.com/2018/01/week-2-prompt-2-read-read-then-read.html

Here's another post about reading... https://profbooneeng1302.blogspot.com/2018/01/cross-post-reading-again.html

Last week we talked about success in college.  I shared with my students (five times to five different classes be exact) that I graduated #6 in a class of 360 students.  I failed my first semester of college with a GPA of 1.8.  I candidly admitted that I had no idea how to be successful in college despite being the 6th top student in my high school class.  I was not ready for college.  And… despite my father being a professor at the college I attended, I had no one to teach me how to be successful in college.

When I asked for help, my father said… “You know what to do!”

I cried, but eventually, by the grace of God, I figured it out.

I also discussed my two…

While in college…

1.  Allowing my father to be my academic advisor.

2.  Not making any long lasting friendships.

Number One…

My father told me, without even asking me, that he was going to be my academic advisor.  He felt that he knew me (and as I discovered later) and he knew what was best for me.  Well, in hindsight, he was wrong.  I wanted to major in computers, but he said they would never last and told me to major in Human Resource Management.

He also had me taking classes that I was not prepared to take, sophomore classes, stating that I was smart enough to skip the freshman classes.  Again, he was wrong.

After flunking my first semester, my father told me that I would have to pay for my own college degree, and that I was going to get a college degree, so I had to get a job and go to college at the same time.

In the end, I ended up paying around $50,000 (after loan fees) for a college degree I have NEVER and will NEVER use.

So, piece of advice #1…

Never let anyone dictate what and who you will be in college.  Be who you want to be.  Get the degree you want to get.  Take the classes you want to take.  In the end, the only person who will suffer from these bad decisions will be you.

Number Two…

I was and still am a LONER.  I prefer to be by myself, to work alone, and to figure things out on my own.  I did that in college.  And as far as my life in college…

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I mean, I went to a party or three here and there throughout my four year stay at college, but, mostly…

I knew people on campus.  Talked to people on campus.  But, I really made no friends.  After college, I had no one to call and see how they were doing.  I had no reason to go back to the college for homecoming.  I had no reason to think fondly on my days at the college.

I honestly wish I would have made some friends.

Lest I be found guilty of forgetting two important people that I met in college, I must say that I met two people, Mr. & Mrs. Barree, who became the surrogate parents that I needed while in college, while I was a student at my college, so I do have a couple of relationships from my college days, but no friendships with people who were my classmates.

So, piece of advice #2…

Make some friends while you are in college.  College is one of the best times you will have in your life.  Have some people on campus who you can share these times with.  Also, make some memories while in college so that you will have a reason to come back to the school for homecoming weekend.

There’s so much more advice I can give to high schoolers, but I’ll save it for when I have them as students in my Dual Credit classes in the future.

I’ll close this post as I closed the post from last year…

If your school offers Dual Credit classes, please check them out, but remember, you have to be ready to be a college student, because that is how the professor will treat you.

P.S.  If you are a student already in college, keep your head up and do your best!  It may be hard, but you can SUCCEED.