Let us Commence!

A happy, warm welcome to my blog!

I have been talking to my friends for some time about starting a blog. Now that I didn't get a summer internship (I got a fall one, but still!), I am completely free and ready to start this!

I have an exciting summer coming up! It will be my first summer in Arizona, and I will be abroad for the first time in London.

For now, I still have two weeks left of my semester, and I am trying to push through, but that burnout is real and hitting!

Maybe, that's why I'm writing here... just to avoid my school responsibilities for a while.

Anyway, currently my life is all about school! I think it's fitting if I give some of my tips to college freshmen everywhere! But, more specifically, if you are a journalism major and therefore probably an overachiever.

So without further ado...

Lydia's 5 Tips to be a Successful Freshman/Sophomore

1. Find a source of income

This may seem obvious to some and completely off to others! Just depends on your socioeconomic status! If you're like me and your low income/on your own, then this is a huge step to even begin enjoying your experience.

However, I recommend this to everyone. You do not want to ask your parents to send you more money, or hell, even running out of money when your friends all decide to do something fun!

Having the extra source of money will allow you to have the things you need when you start getting super busy.

What type of job should you have? If you can find a job on campus that understands your college student and school comes first, that is the best! Even if you look off-campus, make sure your work place understands that college comes first, and if they don't, then just quit and find another job!

Never feel obligated to stay at a job, because they "need you" and/or treat you like shit! :)

Your happiness, life balance, and mental health are more important than any job. You can always find another one!

If you're worried you won't be able to balance both, cut back the hours you're at your job, or maybe find something more flexible.

2. Get Involved

Now, I started my freshman year of college in the middle of a pandemic (class of 2020/2024 rise up!), but even doing school from home, I found a way to get involved!

Attend your college's organization event. It's typically at the beginning of each semester, and all the clubs at your college will be there to recruit you.

This is a good way to expand your network and meet new friends! You can add these clubs to your resume when looking for internships!

These clubs typically hold events that you can attend that provide cool opportunities to usually better yourself in your major. But, sometimes they're just for fun!

If you really want to go for this one, become a member of the club's executive board!

Becoming part of a club executive board requires more commitment, so make sure you can balance this.

Occasionally, you will want to rip your hair out, but that's the life!

3. Keep your classes in order

My first semester, like I already mentioned, was from home. I took about 16 credit hours, equivalent to about five/six classes.

I thought it would be fine, because I had taken that in high school. Boy, was I wrong! While also working my job, trying to manage 16 credits worth of classes was way too much.

In college, a large part of your academics is about how to manage your own time to find the time to study and complete assignments.

Stay on top of your work! Once you start falling behind, it's all catch-up, and that is the worst!

Part of my advice for this bleeds into my next tip...

4. Know when to quit

Whether it's your job, a class, or school altogether, knowing when to quit/take a break/just plain old quitting is a great skill!

I still have not fully mastered this skill, but I will tell you some times where I had to do something along those lines.

My freshman year, I had 16 credit hours, right? My second semester, I cut down to 12 hours instead and opted to take two classes over the summer to keep my scholarships and aid and stay on track!

Boom! Example 1. This is a pretty easy one, my mom suggested it to me (because she'd done college before and I did not understand how college worked).

College works how you want it to work, and you do it at your own pace!

My next one is not so glamorous. For the first time in my life, I was fired from a job!

Granted, I was only 18 years old, and tasked with trying to do an office job over the summer at a job with what I would say pretty subpar management.

I had been debating for a long time whether to quit the job, and I was going to find a new one by the time my sophomore year started. My boss at the job had changed 3 times in the estimated 6 months that I was there!

I didn't feel that welcome when I was at the office, and I wasn't always sure what was expected of me.

Before I had the chance to quit the job, they fired me for missing one day of work. I had been flexible for them, they were not flexible for me, so make sure you find jobs that actually value you as a human being.

It's not just minimum wage jobs that will treat you like shit! Office jobs do it too! :)

Just know, if you have been subconsciously hating your job and are debating quitting, just go ahead and log off, okay?

You'll be happier and save yourself the hurt ego that comes from being fired.

5. HAVE FUN

By far the most important tip I can offer! Sometimes I forget about this one, but you need to have fun!

You should be having fun doing stuff for your major, and you should be having fun outside of your responsibilities too!

Take the time to hang out with your friends and attend fun events your school is throwing (these things usually have free food :)).

Find the fun in the town or city your school is located, and just get out there and be young, wild and free!