I've been meaning to post this for like a week and half, but I was traveling and moving to New England's second-largest city, the hip and happening Providence, R.I., which finally has a mall and a mayor who (so far) isn't a criminal (ironically it's the criminal who got the mall built...). Anyway, my first day of college was Tuesday, but the internet wasn't working until today, and I'm just looking for some stories/advice about college from all you graduates.

One more thing...any Racers from RI?

Edited by: KumarsTouch at: 9/9/04 1:24 pm

have as much fun as possible.
but never lose site of the fact that you are getting a degree.
BUT never turn down an opportunity to have fun because you think you should go to sleep.
the best conversations and some of the best times occurred way after midnight. and i should have been asleep, but i wasn't. i always stayed up too late. and it was worth it.

i almost always made it to my morning classes, but i took LOTS of naps.

naps are your friend in college.

if there's any character traits that you didn't particularly like about yourself, change them. no one at college has any preconceived notions of you already.

you can become exactly who you want to be.

when i went to college i was sort of a quiet kid. i made a conscious decision to be more outgoing and fun before my freshman year in college. it worked.

man, i loved college.

I go back to college on the 23rd. I'm looking forward to being a sophomore, knowing the ropes and whatnot, and finally being able to ride my bike around. Something I wish I had done more of last year was go to the various activities organized by my college. My friends and I decided we were far too cool/lazy for such lame, quasi-highschoolish things as movie nights and poetry readings, but I think I would have met a lot more interesting people if I'd gotten out more. Or if you do decide to be a shut-in, try and do something interesting with your time like writing some sort of manifesto or creating experimental art with things you can steal from the dining hall. Try not to spend too much time on the internet.

Except, of course, for checking up on your beloved racers. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->To me, they will always be glorious birds.</p>Edited by: Fairest of the Seasons at: 9/9/04 11:29 pm

man, i miss college. try to make the most of it, and spend as much time with your friends, cuz you'll miss them like hell when you graduate. have fun, and well... just try and do things that make you happy.

i miss college so much... one year after graduation i still don't feel like i left... ;( <p>____________
"...nor do I think it’s very intelligent to keep an electrical gadget on the edge of the bathtub."</p>

me too!!! I loved University sooo much. I never should have left ;) <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->There’s never any time to have too much self-doubt -- Wes Anderson</p>Edited by: chelseagirl at: 9/13/04 6:40 am

Really take care of your health.

So many kids end up very sick, over/underweight, or nocturnal their first year. And if you feel worse physically, you'll end up feeling worse mentally too. Try to eat three meals a day. Keep junk food to a minimum. Get to bed and wake up at a decent time when you can. Learn to take naps during the day if you're still tired.

Oh, and keep up with your class work. Since college classes don't have many daily (graded) assignments, it's very easy to fall behind.

Edited by: kodos88 at: 9/12/04 1:41 pm

Hm. I hated my University, but loved the people in it. Theatre School is always different than standard Academic Univeristy, but... I agree with taking care of yourself. Of COURSE you're going to get weird sleeping hours, and drink, and try new things. And I think that's really important as long as you're careful about how far you'll go according to your limits. Don't put yourself in really unsafe situations, and be careful of what that means. But do try to keep yourself as healthy as possible. In my program we were required to go to the gym, and that was helpful considering we drank a fair amount and slept minimally.

I agree with hellacious, try out different personality traits that you haven't before.

God it's a fun time. Waaaaaaaaaaay better than highschool.

I go to college next year, and need to get to applying. Anyone have anything to say bout ny muber 1 choice, Northwestern?

Heh, I'm thinking of applying to Northwestern. If we both get in, we could be BUDDIES!

Unless I get into my first choice school, U. of Chicago. In which case, screw you.

I know a woman who teaches at Northwestern. She owns property on the island where I "summer" (haha, that sounds so glamorous.) She's a little crazy, but interesting.

I also hear that they have a good film program. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->To me, they will always be glorious birds.</p>

I agree with Embercat. I didn't like highschool that much as you had to be a certain way, or else you weren't worth anything.

In University you could choose to do what you loved or were good at, and there were an infinite number of ways of being. I loved it and did better there than I did at high school.

I was teh geek in the library or the common room all the time. Also I was in a small professional faculty within the hugest mother-freakin university, so it might not be the most typical college experience. But it was great. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->There’s never any time to have too much self-doubt -- Wes Anderson</p>

i go to a small(very small)liberal arts school in the midwest and my advice to you is that when you are making new friends be as open minded as possible.because honestly depending on the size of the school it can seem similar to a high school situation with the "cool kids"etc.be friends with those people that stimulate you and really seem to understand you.i guess what all my rambling means is really listen to your gut about the people you encounter because you don't want to spend these formative years trying to be something for someone else.and don't worry too much about staying up late, your first year you'll hardly sleep at all and you'll start needing sleep by the 2nd or 3rd year,your body can only function on so little for so long.eat vegetables and take naps try to balance fun and studies.do things that push your bounderies(safely) so you can realise just what kind of person you are and what you really value apart from your family and high school friends.wow i wrote a lot.i hope it makes sense. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->I can't even begin to think about knowing how to answer that question.</p>

KT - Are you at Brown? That was my Dream School. *sigh* Just wondering.

Don't get a credit card. That's my advice. (That's such an odd little emoticon, but I have to admit I've been waiting to use it.)

Except it's nice ot have the credit rating later. If it's good ;)

I got one from a department store where they practically hand them out at the door. Then I threw it in a drawer and tried to forget about it. I just used it a couple of times for underwear or something and paid it right off. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->there’s never any time to have too much self-doubt anyway-- Wes Anderson</p>

OK, so if you're responsible do get a credit card and use it only for emergencies. That is a good point.

Classical's List of Non-Emergencies, Even Though They Seemed That Way at the Time:
1) cash advance for any alcohol or nicotine products
2) cash advance for completely senseless road trips to places that you've never wanted to go or have already been (ie choose your road trips wisely)
3) cash advance to buy the textbook that you had sold back to the bookstore waaaay too early in the semester because you thought you had fantastic notes and the nice boy next to you was letting you use his on occasion

If you should get into a bind, however, I was able to get away with ye ol' Reality Bites gas card scam for two months until my parents finally caught on and informed me that there was no way in hell that my Honda Civic was eating up $140 worth of gas a month, especially when I was never coming home to visit. :b