Four Lessons That Helped Me Enjoy College
When I was 27 years old, I decided to go back to college. I grew up in the Duval County school system in Jacksonville, Florida and was not that great of a student. However, I had some intelligence and learned some things since my high school days that made me think I could be better at schoolwork if I tried. So, I went back to school to earn a degree and win a job in a higher-paying field than the one I was in at the time. So I threw all my chips in, quit my job (!!) and went back to school.
However, when I began, I discovered a lot of things about myself that were keeping me from success. I didn’t enjoy college for a little bit. So with the start of a new semester, here are four lessons from my college career that helped me really enjoy my time in college.
First, know your focus for being in college. When I returned to school, I knew my focus. I was there for grades. I wasn’t there for athletics, a social scene, fraternity, or anything else. I was laser-focused on what I wanted to do and what I was doing there and where I was going. I was there to make college fit into my personal life plans. Having this focus really put my life into perspective. It helped me weed out activities or priorities that wouldn’t make sense doing when I considered it from the stance of the end of the semester. It had a way of simplifying my mind and helped me know what was meaningful to spend my time on and what wasn’t. It brought a lot of meaning to my life and helped me enjoy my college experience when I knew I was spending time on what mattered the most to me. So, know your focus!
Secondly, learn to study. Your mental health will thank you. For me, it was great launching out into an adventurous journey of going back to college, quitting my job, trying to make it work, and so on. However, I soon realized I didn’t know what I was doing when it came to academics. I didn’t know how to study for exams. I didn’t know how to absorb the material. I knew how to read, of course, and I had been through the public school system, but studying takes more than just passive reading. I worried that my attempt to return to college would fail.
But then I learned how to study. I looked up articles. I even read a book. Before this, I spent so much unproductive energy trying to learn the material and then stressing over why I couldn’t remember it. However, once I gained practical tools for studying, I went from worrying over my academic responsibilities to actually enjoying them. So help yourself out. Learn to study!
(A simple next step: read Cal Newport's short, little book, How to Become a Straight-A Student. It really helped me!)
Thirdly, don't forget to socialize. Studying is important, but I soon realized that there were other parts of myself that I needed to take care of or I wasn’t going to reach my goal. It was not just about studying!
For example, I started to learn that when I spend all day in a room studying by myself with no interaction or relationship with other people, I can start to feel kind of depressed. Life loses an important sense of meaning when I just try to behave like a machine. So I learned to get out, to go meet friends, to go to church, and get away from studying for a time in order to maintain connections with other people. In the end, I was mentally sharper, more satisfied in life, and more willing to take on new challenges. This made me a sharper studier when I came back to it than if I had ignored this side of me. So keep these parts of you healthy. Remember to socialize!
Finally, rest! When I was putting in eight to 10 hours a day studying without rest, I started to feel pretty thin. (A guy can get burnt out doing life like that!) As much as I would like to be an Incredible Hulk-like figure when it came to studying, devouring information all day long like it’s nothing, I learned that this just wasn't possible.
Rest is a competitive advantage. I discovered that if I rested, then I can study even better than if I just kept trudging on.
So I learned to study in 35 minute periods and then take an eight-minute break. (Just lie down, on your bed or on the ground, and don’t think about anything for eight minutes.) I learned that if I spend one day writing a paper, then I should take the next day off and rest. (Sorry, but the brain is not ready after all of that mental work from the day before.)
And most importantly, observe a Sabbath day. That is, take a whole day off each week. I mean it. Mine was Sunday. I observe a Sabbath day as a Christian, but the principle of rest is still the same. No studying. No chores. No obligations. Just give yourself a day to live in another part of you than you did during the week. Give that side a break. Go for a walk. Paint. Do something different. Whatever. In any case, rest. You will be sharper because of it because rest is a competitive advantage. So, rest!
Conclusion
When I mastered these things--when I focused on academics, learned to earn good grades--and at an ethical, wholesome cost to myself (didn’t stop socializing, didn’t neglect rest), my quality of life improved and I felt great about being at college. “Omg, this could really work,” was the thought that started popping into my head. “I can actually do this.”
As someone who had done poorly in school beforehand, this experience was a tremendous eye-opener. I felt great that I could academically perform and succeed, and as someone who enjoys mental challenges, it was so much fun in the end. And you can do the same! Know your focus, learn to study, remember to socialize and value rest. Do these things and you will have a great semester! Good luck!
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