By Oluwabukola Pereira
March 09, 2019
Leaving my family behind and going to college was one of the toughest decisions I have had to make. I am sure it was harder for my family to send off their oldest daughter to a far away country to go study, but we all knew it was for the best. We all saw it as a great opportunity for me to grow up and to fully transition into adulthood.
Going to college can be a difficult transition for any student, whether international, out of state, and even in-state students whose family are not too far away. However, with time and a proper mindset, it is not as bad as it seems. As an international student who is a thousand miles away from home myself, and now in my fifth year, I am going to say that it gets better and better every day. As long as you do your calculations right and you learn from your mistakes, you will be fine.
Here are a couple tips that have helped me so far. Feel free to pick and apply whichever works for you.
Be open-minded: College is a good place to meet new people from different places in the world. It is also a good place to meet short term and lifelong friends. Being open-minded helps you see beyond any physical differences/ barriers. It makes you understand your peers better and, above all, it helps you LEARN about them and from them.
Smile: Your smile is your greatest attribute, says Mrs. Alanda Cantrell. You never know who you will end up helping with your smile. There are going to be a lot of good days and several bad days in college, just like it is in life in general; your smile may help save somebody else’s day. You just can never go wrong with a smile. In case you do not know, most college students want to be friends with a happy and lively person.
Ask questions: You will be surprised to know that the same question bothering you yet sounds stupid is also bothering others. Do not be scared to ask questions; there are no stupid questions.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help: If you are having difficulties with an assignment or understanding what is going on in a class, please talk to your professor. If not, talk to someone in your class. If the first person you asked is not able to help, ask someone else. It is better to get help as soon as possible than to wait until the situation gets out of hand.
Learn to say “NO”: It is a great thing to make new friends and hang out, but if all a friend tells you is “let’s go hang out” then you really have to be careful. If you are yet to complete those assignments that are almost due, do those assignments instead. The earlier you get them done, the less stressed you will be. Keep in mind that you underachieve when you are stressed.
College is a great place to have great experiences; pursue that greatness. Also remember to have some fun because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. As for me, I know for sure that I am going to miss my college years.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Infuse Student Media or Southwest Baptist University.
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