COLLEGE 101!!!!

Next request was to talk to you all about college. I loveeeeeeee college! I'm not ashamed to say I've been in college since August 2012 and I am still a junior. The more

I learn about college the more I realize myself, my strengths, weaknesses, my friends, my love life, how I respond to certain situations, my ability to say "no", my alcohol tolerance, etc! College is so many lessons bunched into one wild ass experience.

A weakness majority of us college students have is procrastination. This will be the death of you. You know it and I know it too. I stumbled across this tweet last night and it hit me on a spiritual level.

Half-assing majority to all of your assignments is some BS. Go be present at college. Do your best! Ask for help if you need it. Most colleges have counseling centers if need be, they understand it can be stressful. As a social work student my professor urged us to go and just talk to a student counselor (usually seniors that have been there done that) . Mine helped me prioritize the rest of that semester and I am still beyond grateful. Go to the library if you find it hard to study in your room, go to the lab and research or look into a new assignment if you finished your other assignments. Talk to your professors ESPECIALLY the ones towards your major. You can always use them as references, shit they might even give you all the answers if they're feeling you enough. Go sit and chat with your advisor or professors in your department. There are so many things you could be doing instead of turning up and procrastinating. But don't forget to turn up! I M P O R T A N T....

There is nothing better than being present on campus. Find out what your college has to offer.

Tip: Sign up for your school's text message or email alerts to find out what's going on on campus. Make sure to read the papers/flyers that are hanging up around the school. Those are most of your networking events, career fairs, introductions to clubs, rush dates, etc!

Find your niche(s) and run with it! Believe me when I tell you there is somebody on campus that's interested in what you're interested in. Drama, foreign languages, girl/boy groups, community service groups, band, the AP/overachievers, dance, black student unions, ethnicity aliases, models, people that come together to play volleyball, satanists, I don't care what you like! There's some group out there that needs you and what you bring to the table. Or if not, start your own. Learn how your campus functions and the requirements needed to start an organization. There's nothing worse than going to college just to go to class and go back home/in your room. My friend once told me "I'm not like you Reese. I can't just walk up and talk to people." There's so many other ways you can meet people. The easiest way is to talk to people in your classes or join a group. Start off by just saying hello every time you see them. Eventually you will come up with SOMETHING to talk about. You can literally talk to anyone about anything. If you're more outgoing/social sit down in the lobby of your dorm or a crowded area like cafe or somewhere everyone has to go. Back when I went to Stevenson the first day I moved in I found a group of people that were playing "Apples to Apples" in our floors lobby. So what did I do? I sat my ass down and asked could I join in. I didn't know how to play and I didn't know any one of those people. Set yourself up for success. College can be the best thing ever if you make it. Don't be afraid to try new things and challenge yourself.

Lastly, I'm going to discuss relationships. I'm no relationship expert but I do like to study people (literally, in school for social work remember?). The most important thing to me in college is time & effort. I'm not even going to sugar coat you and tell you that if your dating in college GOOD LUCK until it gets serious lol (good luck maybe even then after that). I like small colleges but there are some huge ones out there! Needless to say, you never know what your significant other is doing when your not around on campus. They could be laid up in another girls/guys dorm texting you like their not even on campus! Are at a party and they told you they went to bed an hour ago, purposely avoiding everybody's snap! Unless you have an eye everywhere, that trust is detrimental. I cannot tell you how many moves I've pulled to confront my friends cheating ex's! Life is so crazy smh. But no really, if you are on the same campus with your lover make time. You don't have to be laid up at each others dorm or hugged up at every plot party together. But go to lunch/dinner together sometimes, do homework together, mess up the party scene in unison and then give each other space. No need for shacking up on campus. If you go to different campuses/are in different states/or one is in college and the other isn't FaceTime/Oovoo/Skype is your best friend. Visit each other's campus every now and again. Set aside a time everyday where you come together to talk, send endless selfies and videos, all that cute stuff. Relationships in general are constant effort and coming to an understanding. Find what suits you and roll with it!

All in all, college is there for your benefit. Do whatever it takes if you want it bad enough. No amount of money or obstacle should discourage you. My greatest quality is my ability to be resilient. You have to be able to bounce back from any and every situation. If you can't find a loophole! Someone can help you. Understand that nothing is going to come as easy as it has been. Get high school out of your head! For the longest time I was producing terrible work because in high school I didn't have to study. The answers came easy to me. Realize that you might need to break yourself down in order to be built back up. Every course might require a different you, different study habits, a different outlook on learning and that's okay. Be the best you in college. And no shade to my mamís & papís that don't want anything to do with college. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just answering requests as they roll in. Be blessed & take your college campus by storm!

"You don't have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream."

~Michael Dell

“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors."

~Maya Angelou