Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (12:00 p.m.) Sadness Journal | Page 22

The Best Years
of Your Life
Theresa Raths
Congratulations! You made it to college. These will be the best years of your life. I have a few
pointers that I’d love to share with you. Keep that GPA up; it’s essential for your college success. If you
want a good job after college, you have to do well in school. Also, employers love to see that you are
more than just an A student. They want to see a built-up resume, including volunteer work, job experi-
ence, internship experience, extracurriculars, and involvement in organizations. But don’t forget to
have fun! College is a unique experience where you can form great friendships and have once-in-a-
lifetime experiences. Go out with friends and have a good time; go to that party, join that sorority, go
out with that guy, and become friends with that girl. Also, never run out of money! You should work
through college, so you don’t come out with too much debt. Work full-time or part-time, however much
you need to in order to pay your way through. Another thing: sleep is essential for success in college.
You can’t perform to the best of your abilities if you aren’t your best self! You should get at least eight
hours of sleep per night. You should get involved on campus. It opens up many doors for you, and it
will expand your friend circle. Get involved in at least two organizations. Again, congratulations. These
will be the best years of your life.
Stated above is the typical advice that students who are entering college receive from almost
everyone who has gone before them. In theory, this advice sounds fantastic. Having an exciting social
life, a successful educational career, hopeful prospects, few debts, and interesting organizations are
what everyone thinks they want when they go to college. In reality, this advice is almost impossible to
achieve. Students come to college expecting the world, but they quickly realize it is nothing like they
assumed it would be. If you want to focus on a robust social life, you have to let the academics slack. If
you want to have a successful academic career, you have to decline invitations to go out and miss
those social experiences you were so excited to have. If you want to be involved in multiple organiza-
tions, your required commitments make it difficult to find time for anything else. Almost all students
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