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College good for learning new information beyond the books
- By Michelle Ramirez
- Trail Staff Writer
- Late nights hunched over my laptop, typing the final eight paragraphs of a paper due the next morning are just one of the aspects of college I thought only existed through juvenile exaggeration. I am surprised to find that lack of sleep is a common affliction among college students. In all honesty, I didn’t know what I expected when I decided to leave home for the sensational life of college living.
I have learned a couple things in my short stay at Northwest College. One: Naps are essential. After a long night of “studying” with my friends and getting a mere three hours of sleep, that one-hour nap at four o’clock in the afternoon makes all the difference. Not only does it allow for another thrill-packed night of social activity, you might even be able to squeeze a couple hours of productive studying in before going out again.
Second, day planners are a gift from heaven. Somewhere in the purple haze of going to classes, staying up all night and studying, little pieces of vital information or important dates are likely to get lost. I have found that writing everything down has saved my proverbial “ass” more than a few times. It also took me a couple of mishaps to figure that one out.
Lastly, make friends with the people in your classes. Hell, make friends with everyone you meet. You never know who might be able to help you when the occasion arises. I have tried to be a little more open-minded about things, considering I am out of my element. Sometimes it is hard to shed the tendency to assume things about people or a place, but a little effort to understand will prove fruitful in the future. It is possibly the best piece of advice that I can offer so far, assuming of course, that anyone wanted my advice in the first place.
My profound illuminations may not come as a surprise to many of you. In fact, a lot of it may be classified under the “obvious” category. My point is, I can relate. College has been an enormous doorway for many opportunities, good and bad. Sharing these experiences with other people, people you may have never dreamed of talking to before you attended college, can be comforting as well as enlightening.
- Trail Staff Writer