As a college freshman, the last thing I wanted was advice. Yet, a few weeks ago, I found myself giving some advice to my nephew who was headed off for his first year of college.
Rather than preaching to him, I tried to talk about mistakes I made and things I could have done differently. Maybe a few of these experiences will be helpful to pass along to the college freshman in your life.
Don't Be Afraid To Change Course
When I arrived at the very good and very expensive school I had managed to get into, I felt that my future had been decided. However, after a few weeks, I realized that I had made a terrible mistake in selecting a conservatory program where, from the beginning, my course of study was determined.
How at 18 was I supposed to know what I wanted to do with my life? My father had, in fact, tried to point this out to me and I had brushed him off. So, once I found myself at school, knowing in my heart that my dad had been right, I was determined to make it all work and prove him wrong.
Had I swallowed my pride and allowed myself to change course, I could have focused on writing, which soon became my interest. Instead, I spent four years struggling with a field that I knew I was not going to ultimately pursue.
Rebellion Doesn't Need To Mean Self-Destruction
We all feel pretty indestructible at 18 and the rush of freedom college brings allowed me to test the limits of safety. Of course some people, myself included, are predisposed to problems with drugs and alcohol. Other college students just see wild partying as a statement of independence, but can still put themselves in danger and waste a lot of time.
I wish that I would have discovered politics in college. In my 20s, I became very involved in all sorts of political movements that helped me grow and change in ways that were far more radical than any drunken party I ever attended. Whatever a student's political inclination, conservative or liberal, political involvement allows for real growth, even rebellion, but in a meaningful way.
You Get Out Of It What You Put Into It
This old lesson was one that I never learned during my college years. Although I graduated with fairly good grades, I never allowed myself to pursue my goals passionately in college. Instead, I saw the reading and studying as a backdrop for partying. Inevitably, school became something to get through rather than a time when I was allowed, without any distractions or responsibilities, to work toward what I loved.
These lessons that seem so clear to me several decades on will likely be met with groans and eye rolling by an 18-year-old.
However, I think adults have a responsibility to be honest about the mistakes we have made in order to give younger people an opportunity to avoid them. So let the eye rolling begin, but I wish for all college freshman a healthy and amazing year of growth!
The Principles
by Patrick Moore
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