What I learned my first week of college

Two weeks ago I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime and moved to Greenville, Illinois to start my college experience. This past week was my first week of classes and let me tell you, I've learned a lot. While I've only been in class for a week, I'll admit I'm no expert, but there are a few things I've learned this week that I feel are interesting bits about college life that some may not expect. 

1. When they say you're an adult now, they're not kidding. 

I guess I assumed that the first week would be filled with people offering to help me in any way possible. I didn't know where anything was, what the dining commons hours were, how to add or drop a class, how the laundry room works, or even when chapel was offered. I had so many questions and hardly any answers. It became quickly clear that part of the college experience is figuring things out on your own, even if that means wandering up and down Prairie Street for 20 minutes looking for a church on Sunday. I now realize that if I have questions, ASK! And do that as soon as possible because college waits for no one and you will be left behind on the metro in St. Louis (yes this really happened to someone on our freshman trip). 

2. I'm not a social butterfly and you don't have to be either

I'd taken all the personality tests in high school and it seemed clear that I was an extrovert and I really believed that I was, that is, until I got here. I've loved all the events that the college has planned for us to get the freshman mingling and more familiar with campus, however; I definitely needed to set aside time for myself and I now realize that's perfectly okay. At first I felt guilty about skipping out on an event to hang out with just my small group of friends or even by myself, but it's so important to be able to recharge yourself in order to be the healthiest version of yourself. The truth is, not all of us are outgoing and the events colleges plan aren't meant for everyone all the time. Going to some school sponsored events is important but it's not the sole reason you're there and it's equally important to take care of yourself and have fun in the best way you know how. 

3. I like homework and that's a good thing 

I'm not going to lie, I didn't actually hate homework in high school and I was excited to get my first piece of homework in college. It may sound crazy but I chose to go onto higher education for the education part not the social aspect or the cultural right of passage. Crazy I know! But it's true, I came here to get a degree in order to prepare myself for the future; and therefore, the schooling aspect is incredibly important to me. While I loved all the orientation events that were planned, having a schedule was a welcomed change and working on homework that I know is preparing me for my career is exciting! College is supposed to be fun but it's also about learning a skill that will last you a lifetime 

4. Don't be afraid to change your life plan 

So I came here planning majoring in digital media with an emphasis on film. I had my entire life planned out and I wasn't letting anyone tell me any differently. Then one night it hit me. I didn't want my whole life to be about creativity. While I love making movies I didn't want the pressure of making something crowd pleasing ruin my passion and excitement for that art. I decided to change my major after just two days of classes and am now studying history and secondary education and I'm well aware that my life plan may very well change again. I came here afraid of change but now realize that change is perhaps  the best part of life. It allows us to open up new doors that we never noticed before. Rather than fighting it or being afraid of it, embracing change is the best option, because once you do the happiness is overwhelming. 

Facebook Fights and Trending Hastags

It seems in today’s media centric world everyone has an opinion and is overly eager to share it (yes I am aware that I am indeed one of those people). As I scroll through the news feeds of my various social networks I notice people taking sides on issues and voicing their opinions with little to no thought of the other side. It seems we’ve ditched empathy and compassion completely for the new more exciting traits like passion and feistiness. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for having an opinion and taking a stand but what I would like to address is one stance in particular that I have seen over and over again. Lately, I’ve seen statuses that read like this:

“Why are people more concerned with the stupid lion that was killed and not the brave soldiers that were killed in Chattanooga? Our world is becoming an ignorant place!”

Or this….

“Let’s worry a little less about the religious views of other countries and a little more about the homeless in our own country. Come on people!”

Now let me preface this post with saying, if you are a person who has typed one of these statuses, and I know there are a lot of you because I've seen many a Facebook fight and trending hashtags on twitter that seem to be stirring up conflict, I am most definitely not trying to call you out personally as I have seen this time and time again. I would like simply for us all to look at our world in a different lens. 

So let me be really blunt with you, I as a human being am capable of caring about more than one issue at a time. And guess what? You are too! 

Just because I love animals and am extremely angry that Cecil the Lion was killed does not mean that I am automatically against the United States and wish to promote domestic terrorism. Similarly, just because I am concerned with how Iran’s government works with the religion of Islam doesn't mean I have not a care in the world for the plethora of people homeless in America. I’m capable to caring about all these issues and in fact I care about them all deeply. I’m an avid supporter for animal rights and I’m proud to be an American. I’m interested in foreign policy but also care about those less fortunate. 

Now get ready for the ground break epiphany…

Firstly,

We don’t have to pick a side! We as human beings are capable of complex thought and because of that we are able to feel compassion towards two things at the same time. If you want to care about more than one thing, no one is stopping you! In fact, we need more people in the world who are willing to become educated and voice their opinions on the many injustices in the world. I would even venture to say that in order to be a contributing member of society you should have to be passionate about more than one issue.

Secondly,

So maybe you don’t care about Cecil the lion or about the religious views of another country, but who are you to say what is more important? I’m sure the people in Israel care a lot about the religious views of other countries because that could mean life or death for them. Similarly, I’m sure the animal rights activists that have devoted their lives to be a voice for the voiceless care a lot about Cecil. Just because one event doesn’t impact you does not mean it may or may not impact another person. 

So the next time you’re planning on posting on Facebook or Twitter or wherever you might want to voice your opinion, think for a moment and really consider all sides of the issue and how you personally feel. If we can stop ranking issues in an order of importance and start making them all of equal importance maybe we could make some real changes.