The List
1. Don't be afraid
to take some time off.
Don't feel pressured to head right off to the university if you
can take a year off first to explore your world and yourself
--
especially if you have no idea what you wish to study or what
school you want to attend,
You might work for the
first few months to earn travel money, then take off to backpack
Turkey or bike New Zealand.
You'll gain perspective on your capabilities and what's important
to you.
You're also sure to gather some interesting stories to impress
your classmates.
And in these early days...
2. Don't worry about
your major.
Find something you can really get excited about and do that.
Philosophy? Great. Phys Ed? Terrific.
Your major is not as crucial as you might think, unless you want
to follow a hard-wired track like pre-med or pre-law.
You'll probably change
your major once or twice during your college years, anyway.
What matters is that
you...
3. Do good work and
go beyond your own expectations.
Once you choose what you want to study, apply yourself to it.
Do work you'll be proud of later.
Remember: Even if Mom
and Dad are paying your tuition, they are not the only ones investing
something here.
This is also your investment of four-plus years of your
life and a great deal of emotion and energy.
It's your investment in yourself. Don't be afraid to work
hard.
As part of this effort...
4. Forge your own
path.
Find ways to make your area of study your own, even if it's the
most popular major on campus.
Experiment. Use all the tools at your disposal.
Studying television production? Find innovative ways to use the
character generator.
Studying the Finnish language? Work with a music student to write
an opera in that language,
then get the TV student who runs the character generator to run
subtitles during the production.
In class, sit in the
first or second row. Ask good questions. Show you care about
the subject.
Start a study group and invite an expert to answer questions.
Make sure your instructor learns your name.
Get together with them in an informal setting and talk about
ideas for further study.
Science? Write your chemistry
thesis as a screenplay.
Philosophy? Float your own theory of existence, based on the
spectrum of visible light.
Phys Ed? Combine two sports, create a new form of exercise and
market it to fellow students on videotape.
Push the envelope and
get as much out of your investment as you can.
And let yourself fail as often as necessary, because that means
you are trying as hard as possible.
Along the way...
5. Create something
tangible.
Make sure you leave college with something you can show the world,
be it a film, a thesis paper, a portfolio, a newspaper article,
a case study,
or something else you can dress up in pretty colors and show
to potential employers.
(Or, at least, your extended family -- and your kids, if and
when you have some.)
OK, as you create masterpieces,
don't forget to...
6. Have fun.
Go to parties. Stay up all night. Host parties. Get drunk, if
you drink. Get laid, if you lay. Don't be shy.
Don't let the many clueless, careless, and downright destructive
people that attend your school (any school)
ruin your enjoyment of the experience.
If you don't know how to have a good time, make friends with
someone who does -- and buy the first round.
Get your heart broken. Learn to dance. Skip a class to go skiing.
Skip a class to finish a really good book.
You will be discouraged
from doing some of these things, of course.
I say:
Break a few rules, but not the law.
Don't hurt anyone or their stuff.
Use good manners always.
And try not to do anything to excess, although some would say
this doesn't apply to
sex, dancing and skiing.
Whilst living this life
of mild abandon...
7. Have Great Conversations
Never pass up an opportunity to stay up until dawn talking about
the philosophy of Chumbawumba lyrics
or the difference between "sexy" and "erotic"
or why families that sing together are less dysfunctional
or why Internet dating might lead to a desensitization to love
or what your high school English teacher really meant by "Truth
is Beauty."
You never know when a
good conversation will prove to be
one of the most rewarding and memorable events of your college
career.
Meanwhile, though you
may think your creative aptitude and natural charm will carry
you through...
8. Learn about your
business.
Make sure your school remembers to teach you about the marketplace
for your specific career.
Find ways to meet with people already experienced in the field,
and learn what and who the smart ones recommend you know.
Complete a good internship,
and remember that interning for a very small organization
can lead to a more rounded and rewarding experience -- try to
look beyond the "big names."
Do the numbers: Take
a few courses in economics or other business subjects,
even if you find the topics distasteful.
You may need to make money some day, and you never know when
your entrepreneurial knowledge
will lead you to new and brilliant applications of your craft.
Then, to compliment all
of the above...
9. Learn a foreign
language.
It'll help you in your travels (and great conversations), but
more importantly, it'll give you an important edge in the work
world.
You can be smart about
it, and choose something that relates to your expected field
of employment
-- if you know what that will be --
or choose something a little off the beaten track.
A notary public or accountant
or dock worker or tractor technician or music therapist
who knows Arabic or Chinese or Swedish or even Tagalog
will find particular career opportunities that only they can
fill.
And, finally, perhaps
the most important objective...
10. Prepare for future
world travel.
Make friends with people from around the world.
You will be traveling in future years, so grab every opportunity
to have friends in as many other countries as possible,
not to mention in other regions of the U.S.
You will gain excellent guides and avoid expensive hotel bills.
Trust me: You'll feel
very, very smart for having done so.
Good luck!
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