Say Geronimo

I am quite nearly 1/4 of the way through college. I realized this while talking to a friend yesterday about when we were leaving campus (nor not leaving campus in my case) after our final exams. Yes, finals week is upon me and the last two weeks have been nothing but stress and drama. Upon coming to college, I assumed that the general population would be significantly more mature than my youth group friends but upon approaching spring semester, I soon realized that is not true. Evidently my expectations for my peers were way too high.

Presumptuous or not of me, I have been a little surprised at the reaction of people older than myself to relationship problems and have been shocked at the lack of discretion some people seem to have. Currently, I am going through a little bit of heartbreak due to a situation with a guy, and apparently a friend has spread the word like wildfire, with intentions still unknown. This surprised me because I am not used to having to explain that something like a relationship problem is best left quiet. I have always assumed that this is common curtesy. How wrong I was, and it has led to a number of rant sessions and tears on my part as a result.

After going through a period of struggling with going back to secluding myself from my friends because of the guy situation, I soon realized that I was letting everyone control me. I am my own person, I am not defined by my quietness or my heartbreak. Letting people speak for me is ending this year. Basically, I'm done. I'm jumping off the high end of my college career and being me for once in my life. I realized that I am free to have the friends I want, dress the way I want, and I am free to like whomever I want. So say "Geronimo", because I have passed the point of essentially, caring. (The song by Sheppard has been my anthem this week). I'm done caring about what others think, God has called me to be myself.

3 Things I Learned Halfway Through Spring Semester

I cannot believe how much I have grown since starting college - it has been an amazing adventure so far. So, in the format of a previous post, I want to share with you what more I have learned halfway through my second semester of college.

1) Other people can be shy too.

I used to think that I was the problem because I am shy and everyone else seemed to be extroverted. I thought this was why I seemed to have trouble making friends. Truth is, a lot of people are shy and they just have different ways of showing it. For myself, I just have to get past thinking about what other people think and just be me; after all, why do you want to be friends with people who don't accept you for you?

2) Participation matters.

If you can, try to answer as many questions in class as you are able. A lot of professors have a "participation grade" as part of your assignments/final grades. It also helps your professor to put a name to your face. When he or she is grading your exam, he may be more likely to take off points simply because you participate more than others and he "knows" you. My mom gave me this tip, and it has helped me alot (I got the highest participation grade in my Marketing Principles class). It's awkward for professors to have students that don't answer any questions, so they appreciate your input.

3) Try new things

New things may be scary at first, but if you don't try them, you'll never know what you're missing. Who knows, you may end up loving your school's marketing club or enjoying the company of fellow nerds in an anime club. If you don't put yourself out there, you won't learn. Often you can drop out of things if you don't like them, so don't feel obligated to commit to anything your first year of college and try out things, finding what you like. If you have space, take classes that aren't in your major, but interest you. You are here to learn, and that is not merely limited to your major.

Ok that's all for now. As you probably have figured out, I prefer to write short blog posts, because as a reader I prefer to read shorter blog posts.

Have a fantastic swanky day. (Or not.)