College: Learning Inside and Outside of the Classroom

“How is school?” It’s a basic question, something that every college student has to face. It typically comes when you run into high-school friends over winter break, that pivotal moment when you try to cram four months of experiences into one meek, watered-down sentence. My responses were decidedly profound, most falling somewhere along the lines of “It’s going great!”

To be honest, I was caught off guard the first time I was asked this question. Of course I expected to be asked about my experience college. I just didn’t expect for it to be so hard for me to answer. Nothing I said seemed to do justice to my first semester at William & Mary, especially because it was so much more than just class and clubs. So after some serious reflection, I finally came up with a few things I’ve learned.

You can do anything, but not everything.

William & Mary students are, for the most part, crazy overachievers. And I mean that in the best possible way. We all want to do everything– school, sports, community service, clubs. Luckily for us, there is an obscene amount of things going on around campus. It’s honestly mind-boggling. At the orientation activities fair, I signed up for dozens, literally dozens, of clubs.  Within a week, I was drowning in emails and completely overwhelmed. I learned quickly that it was much better to concentrate my efforts into a few clubs I was passionate about, rather than spread myself too thin. You can’t do it all (and expect to sleep). But seriously, you can’t.

Your grades, and your sanity, will thank you.

Sometimes all you need is a night in.

There are always things going on around campus. It’s just a fact. Take this Friday, for example. There is a screening of the Disney movie Tangled, The Improv Theatre group is performing, and AMP is hosting the infamous Club Swem, where the student body comes to our beloved library for dancing, karaoke and food.  How can you miss it? I spent my first few weekends (or months, or semester) trying to do absolutely everything- and ended up exhausted. Keep in mind that there will always be other weekends. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to stay in on a Friday, watch a movie, and be in bed by ten. There is nothing wrong with that, trust me.

Mistakes happen, so learn from them.

No matter what we (or our parents) think, we’re not perfect. And part of college is making mistakes. Hopefully those mistakes aren’t too drastic, but they do happen.  Maybe it’s thinking you can go out with your friends the night before a test. Or thinking that you can write that six page paper the night before it’s due. Or maybe it’s thinking you can run on 5 hours of sleep every night (take my word for it- it can’t be done. No matter how many espressos you consume).  In my mind, mistakes aren’t a bad thing as long as you can forgive yourself, learn, and move on. Trust me, I know that can be hard to do. But look at it this way- they make life so much more interesting.

College is about more than grades.

Before you judge, let me clarify. We all know that grades are important. We do go to William & Mary after all. I’ve spent many a late night with my buddy, Earl Gregg Swem, downing caramel macchiatos and commiserating with other stressed students. And although we’re here to get an amazing education, it doesn’t hurt to put some things in perspective. In ten years, when I’m reminiscing about my time on campus, I’m not going to remember that one A on my genetics test. Or even that paper I spent days researching for my Detective Fiction seminar. I’m going to remember running around in the pouring rain in the Sunken Gardens with my freshman hall. Or talking for hours with my sorority sister on the Terrace. Or watching the sunset on Lake Matoaka in early fall. Of course it’s important to do well in your classes- it’s why we’re here. But don’t forget to take a step back every once in a while and actually enjoy college.

My next goal? How to come up with a better response when asked about school. Maybe I’ll learn that second semester.

-Erin