Entering college, I had this preconceived notion that to be successful here means to properly blend in, intermingle, merge, fit. Though I have found new words to describe what it means to be successful here: stick out. Less so in high school, college requires strict time management and independence, but it also encourages involvement. While in high school, students bolster their resume with involvement and service to get into their desired college, making themselves “look good on paper”. College involvement, while it still builds your resume, is individual, it is something you place yourself in for personal fulfillment and self-advancement. Students can fall under this false impression that involvement is minimal, and the social scene is what is more important, failing to realize that participating in things such as Student Senate, Residence Hall Association, various clubs, to name a few, are social scenes too in a more literal sense; students communicating for a goal.
Being here, a first year student, there are no parents to pressure you to become involved, no one badgering you to improve your resume, someone isn’t taking attendance at meetings, YOU decide what you choose to do with your time outside class and work. While for you, reader, this may sound like common sense, but after being here a few weeks, I have felt a new, unfamiliar, but exhilarating feeling of being independent. With smart independence, I have found that immersing myself in numerous activities and a varsity sport, I can be successful by sticking out and breaking the mold.
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