Surviving College Part 4: Leaving and the Library

My college career seems to be quickly coming to a close: I am in the finals week of winter quarter of my senior year. After this I just have a quarter to spend in Ecuador which will start in about a week's time. I am excited about that, my thoughts and adventures will be found at Letters of Adventure, though I will probably write about it here as well.  But back to college as a whole, I started a series of posts last year entitled "Surviving College" as a sort of beginner's guide to the college experience and at times life itself. I did not end up going as far with it as I meant to, but I intend to continue it here and in subsequent posts.

   Since freshman year I have used the library quite frequently. I've always felt that I can concentrate on the work that I need to accomplish better there than in my room/home/etc. I like the combined environment of solidarity of people trying to get things done and others procrastinating from work. I like the upper floors which encase "the stacks" or our entire catalog of books whether they be fiction, non-fiction, reference or other. Its like a labyrinth up there at times which you can walk about breathing in the scent of dusty novels. Though I digress, my purpose of this post is to encapsulate how I feel about the existence of the library in college. Do not be afraid of the library, do not fear the silence that permeates each floor equally. If you truly cannot stand the silence, bring headphones, that's what I do. The library is a home away from home, it has resources at your immediate disposal that you do not have when you're at home. The library is a meeting place for group projects and study sessions.  You can efficiently print large amounts of pages, or fax documents or open pdf's you could not open on your own laptop. It truly is a magical place.

And yet, some people abhor the library. Which is fine, to each their own. But at the same time I think it works as a great change of pace from your usual place of study.

Theophilus London
Humdrum Town

Surviving College Pt 3

Here's one I thought of, get to know your campus before running from point A to point B in the dark. I'll explain: at the beginning of freshman year I was interested in two clubs; fencing and the campus radio station. The problem was both orientation meetings for said clubs were on the same night. Luckily the meetings started a half hour or more apart so I was fairly sure I could go to fencing first, get info/see how things are, then leave early and still make it to the Radio meeting.

Seems like a solid plan, right? And it was. Except I thought I was a little late and decided I'd take what I thought would be a short cut. Also I was lightly jogging. I saw the building I was shooting for directly in front of me when WHUMP! all of the sudden I was on the ground light flashing white in my eyes. I had sent my hands out so I did catch myself a bit, largely I landed on my face and hands. Scraped my palms up pretty bad and a bit of my face too. Other than that I was fine, just mildly shaken. What had happened was the path I was following has a section without lighting, that same section unfortunately has a chain going across it. I got to the meeting with a few minutes to spare in fact, went to the restroom cleaned myself up a bit so it wouldn't look like I had been in a fight directly beforehand and went it.

Also on an unrelated note, I hate waking up in the morning. Its hard, especially when the bed has gotten to its optimum comfiness factor just before you have awoken, thereby making the exit from the bed even more challenging. I think this video illustrates that point pretty well. And The Thermals are pretty great.

The Thermals
I Don't Believe You

Surviving College Pt 2

So you're at college, and maybe you have your first day of classes coming up. Perhaps you have some qualms. I'm here to assuage them(that is a fun word to use!). If you're unsure where your classes are, print out your schedule and walk around campus the day before. I still usually print off a copy of my schedule for the first few days, it still takes me way too long to memorize the order. You might still get lost and show up late, don't worry, it happens. You might get to your first class of the day only to find a sign directing you to a different building entirely, it happened to me once, no big deal.

Did you make it to that class in one piece? Good. Now that you're there first off let's say its a large lecture hall, don't spend 10 minutes looking for a seat next to someone you know, if you see an open seat anywhere go for it. I tend to ask if its already spoken for, but that's just me.

Most classes the first day is actually pretty unexciting as it means syllabus day. The professors pass out their syllabi go over it, possibly get into a bit of notes and usually let you out early. That's the formula anyway.

And maybe you're thinking, oh no, is this class going to be hard? Will the professor be nice? Don't worry probably most of the rest of the class are thinking the same thoughts. Pretty much everyone is on equal footing on the first day. If you miss something the professor says or part of the notes ask a neighbor or raise your hand. Some concepts are going to seem crazy complicated, please ask the professor to explain it again, the good ones can make just about anything understandable.

Surviving College (and maybe life?)

In the past two years of college I believe I have gained some experience and learned some tricks which may help you make it out alive. I'm going to try to split this into a few running segments. Some of these things are going to sound dumb or commonsensical, I do hope it helps though, if nothing else hopefully a little entertainment can be derived.

Where to start..? Don't Panic.

The Weakerthans
Our Retired Explorer



More to come!