Public Spark

Prioritizing your workload

This is a quick lesson for college students when professors give unreasonable amounts of reading, assignments, test. You begin to see that you can skim through certain things, skip classes (in moderation), skip readings, etc. Otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy and not retain much.

Balancing life

Indeed most are paying a lot of money to attend college so of course the focal point is getting an education, but it is equally important to have a balance. It is the experience that helps you to become who you are and be a great candidate for the working world.

Having strong social support

Along the same lines, some of the social support you have will be your lifelong friends. Not to be a skeptical either, but sometimes there are times where you can truly see who are your real friends and who are your friends for assignment and class purposes.

Don’t stress over grades

In the real world, you don’t get grades for what you know or what you memorize during a couple of tests, but your overall performance and productivity that can’t be measured by A’s and B’s. Sure you want to do the best, but understand that grades are NOT a measure of intelligence nor how capable you are. Ultimately it means nothing to be Valedictorian and not achieve much out in society and you can also get C’s, graduating from the bottom and still be president of the U.S.

Understand what styles work for you

Everyone has their own working styles that makes them productive. Do what is right for you and not what works for someone else. I can’t do the write my paper by pulling an “all-nighter” all the time. But it works great for other people. Find your style and stick to it.

Feeling okay about making mistakes

College is a world that is supposed to be safe, but sometimes it isn’t. Grades teach us to strive for perfection and never to make mistakes. Mistakes are costly in the college system. It can be the difference between a summa cum laude and a no name laude. But shouldn’t it teach us the opposite? Afterall, mistakes are what help us to move forward.

Dorm experience

Part of the great college experience is being independent. I spent three years of my undergraduate experience dorming at Loyola Marymount University, even though I lived 15 minutes away. Perhaps this was one of my most important “investments.” I learned what it felt like to be independent, share spaces with strangers, and make lifelong friends.

Have fun, but be careful of things you might regret

Of course college is about having fun, but understand your consequences. You never know if the person you throw up on by drinking too much at a party could be your bosses’ daughter.

Joining clubs and activities

This is a great way to social network and also have fun. You can begin to find your niche.

Taking classes that interest you outside your major

This can be refreshing and helpful. Although I was a biology major, I had a chance to take “fun classes” like music, clay, and management, which I gained great knowledge from!