Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Some advice to the lucky ones who aren't graduating...

In less than one month I will be graduating, but most of you reading this will have at least another year or more here at UNH. I have experienced a lot of different things during my time here and I think it would be only fair to use one of my last columns to share some helpful advice with you all.

I know what you might be thinking, “Why would we want to take advice from a buffoon of a student who may or may not drink too much.” Well first of all, it is not a drinking problem until you graduate, so the joke is on you. Secondly, and if you have not figured this out by now you may need some language comprehension classes, but a lot of what I have written over the years is in character, sarcastic and satire. Well, other than the whole drinking stuff. That part is real. Anyways, here is some of what I think is the best advice I have to offer.

If a professor ever tells you, “This is not a paper/assignment/project that you can complete the night before it’s due” they are wrong. Just about any assignment can be completed in “A” fashion the night and/or early morning before it is due. Just do not make a habit of it or you may develop insomnia. I cannot tell you how many times I turned in a paper literally still warm from being freshly printed.

Try something new. Scratch that; try as many news things as you possibly can. I never expected to write a blog or a newspaper column, and I think that this turned out pretty well for me. Do not limit yourself to your comfort zone. I know a lot of people will say this about college, but I feel so many students still never step outside their regular routines.

Try to dedicate one night or weekend a year to become your personal ultimate college story. Everyone needs to graduate with his or her one go-to story to share to close friends for the future. This does not need to be a party or drinking story, rather it should be something that would be unusual for your lifestyle.

Study abroad for a semester. Even doing one of the shorter summer or J-term trips would be worth the experience and it is much cheaper than traveling on your own. Not studying abroad for a semester is probably my biggest regret about college. I have many friends who took advantage of the opportunity and I know they are happy that they did. However, I would not recommend doing it second semester senior year because you are going to want to be in Durham with all of your closest friends for your last few months of college.

Similar to the last one, another regret of mine is that I never took a big road trip with a group of friends for spring break, winter break or the summer. Sure, I took weekend trips to other colleges, but I would have loved to take some type of road trip with my roommates.

Try to pile up at least one or two minors. I will be graduating with three unfinished minors, in political science, English writing and communications because I could never make up my mind or commit to anything. I took more classes for my major than I needed, but part of that was that there were so many interesting ones, I could not resist.

This one comes directly from personal experience, but I think it is something everyone should do. Write on your own, outside of classes. I do not mean to keep a journal or diary or to write personal essays or poems. Just write. Keep track of funny things that happen to you or things you see, write down ideas, thoughts or future goals. It will help you stay organized, clear your mind and actually help reduce stress. Take 10 or 15 minutes just to write, think and clear your mind. It will pay off when it comes to studying or writing an essay because it will help you focus on the task at hand.

Finally, when you are in my position and preparing to graduate, make sure that you have as little regrets as possible. Make your own personal college bucket list because you will be able to do things in college that you will never be able to experience again. This may seem pretty cliché, but it is true. Enjoy your time here, because it really does go by faster than you expect.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

3 comments:

  1. very tearful, bunny.

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  2. I don't know if you've addressed this in other columns, but what are your plans for the blog once you've graduated? Are you going to reveal yourself? Pass it on to another student?

    Regardless, you've done a great job with it. I graduated last year, and still check in to read every once in a while. I miss UNH something fierce, and this blog has been a great way to keep up with what is going on.

    And personally, I'm interested to see if I had classes with you, as I was a History major as well.

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  3. I'm sorry to say this, but I've decided against passing it on. I will explain in full details in an upcoming post. (Closer to graduation)

    Also, I will be revealing myself, in a more public manor, and here on this blog as graduation nears.

    That is all I will say for now because I am still working out the details, but again, I'll explain more at a later date.

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