|
|
HOW TO SURVIVE COLLEGEAug 12 '06 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Learn to be a small fish in a big pond. The caboose has arrived. I’m sorry to be so late Ryan. Several reviews have been written on college life giving you the low down on how to survive, and trust me college is a test of survival. It’s sink or swim time so with this in mind I thought I’d give a more personal, short, write-up on the topic. Picture it. It’s the late 1960’s, you’ve graduated from high school where you were something of a large fish in a small pond. Your problem is, you didn’t know you were a large fish in a small pond as you were in a small school surrounded by cousins, distant cousins, and kids of you grew up with. Everyone knew everyone else. Your ancestors walked before you and to this day they continue to walk along the same road you walked. It’s paved today which makes the walking easier. One of the requirements for a high school freshman is algebra. You breezed through the subject and had your cousins, distant cousins, and other kids asking you for the answers, which you supplied. Seniors needed help with a couple of their courses, you were considered smart, and since you were part of a community quilt sewn together over the decades, with tightly woven stitches, you found yourself doing their work along with your own. You hated history so your cousins, distant cousins, and kids you were growing up with supplied you with answers. We had a bond of “give and take.” It worked for us—at the time. High school rotated around school functions, giggling girls, swaggering boys who boasted of feats we knew durn well they had not accomplished. They may fool the students in our rival school, but they were our cousins, distant cousins, and kids we were growing up with and they could not fool us. We could wrestle them until they hollered Uncle with one arm tied behind our backs. Summers constituted swimming in the river, wading in creeks, going to church, Vacation Bible School, tent revivals, Sunday dinners, TV, picking berries, killing time in one way or another, dreading the thoughts of school starting again but deep down excited about it. Teachers “petted” you, encouraged you, and with the notion in your head you could climb mountains, you set off into the vast sea of college life thinking it was going to be a breeze. High school was so why shouldn’t college be the same? Whoa! Colleges had male professors and in all your previous school years, you had only had two male teachers. These male teachers were well-known members of your community. They were cousins of your distant cousins. In other words, they were family. Help! Which college to attend? The college you wish to attend usually depends on what you want to major in. A small speck of dust will choose the one closest to home where it’s easy to reach Mom and Dad if needed, and they can reach you. Small specks of dust will never venture far from their nest. College life opens your eyes Important lesson: Forget everything you thought you knew in high school. You are no longer in the Little League. It’s time to play ball with the big boys. Just because you knew, or thought you knew the answers in high school doesn’t mean you’re going to know the answers in college. Example: In high school we were taught Christopher Columbus discovered America. Who’s Leif Ericson? Don’t make the mistake of asking your professor this question. Don’t question him about the Vikings arrival in North America in the 11th century either. You actually can crawl under your seat (if you wanted to) when Miss Smart Mouth, who is used to answering all the questions and even giving answers when none are asked, declares Christopher Columbus was Spanish. Just because Ferdinand and Isabella sponsored his voyages, doesn’t mean Chris was a Spaniard. Miss Smart Mouth must have missed a day of school when the class was informed Cristoforo Colombo was born in Genoa, a city in northern Italy. Miss Smart Mouth must have missed another day of school (and she wasn’t prone to missing, so through years of self interrogation, she finally concluded, she was deaf during her high school years). Miss Smart Mouth knew Christopher Columbus gave our country the name AMERICA. The history professor was making up the name Amerigo Vespucci. Another piece of advice—don’t question your professor’s education. I count my lucky stars I’m in the kinder and gentler world of housewifery where my education, or lack of it depending on whom you talk to, is constant, instead of in the mean streets of scholarly tweeds where the shark pool of college profs swim hungrily around my bones. What NOT to bring to college Don’t bring your 5 foot hot pink stuffed dog your father gave you when you were 15 years old. My advice on surviving college The first year can be a rude awakening. Don’t whine to your professor he didn’t remind you when your paper was due. He told you once, you’re going to be treated as an adult, so act like one. Pay attention in class, take notes, and learn when it’s best to keep your mouth closed. Balance your time and use it wisely. Choose your friends just as wisely. Get a good nights sleep. Nothing ticks your professor off more than a student caught snoring during one of his lectures. Oh, and find out where the Ladies Powder Room is in case of an emergency and you don’t accidentally wind up in the Gents room. I am here to tell you some friends don’t let you live anything down! ©ddustyrose August 2006 Here’s your link to Ryan's Write-off. http://www99.epinions.com/content_4788625540 Thanks for inviting me Ryan. Here are some other Write-Off's I've entered if you have some time to kill. My Contribution to MissElaineious Embarrassing Moments Write Off My Contribution to The Best Moments of 2005 Write Off Which Weather Can You Weather W/O Are We All the Same W/O Entry Knowing Me, Knowing You! Fun With Porn Names from Write Off's Part Deux Sad Songs Say So Much (Alexdg's Open-Ended, Everyone's Welcome Write-Off) Tip Me Off Write-Off! Celebrating Julie's 300th Review Crashing The Epinions Unisex Beauty Write-Off~~~How Do I look?  |
| Read all comments (11)|Write your own comment |
- Top 1000|
Ads by Google
|
