Last time I wrote to you, whoever you may be, I talked about learning to live with others. This week I felt it was important to touch on the topic of living independently. We are often caught up in the needs of what it takes to live with other people that we forget to think about ourselves. Sometimes, we need to learn how to be on our own, and that’s perfectly acceptable to admit.
Living on your own means you need to be responsible for yourself. This includes waking yourself up on time for class and going to sleep at a reasonable hour. Keep in mind this is coming from the girl that runs on minimum amounts of sleep and maximum amounts of coffee. But trust me, you will not understand the struggle of waking up for a 7:50 class until that morning when you’re lying in bed regretting your schedule choice.
There will be days when you wake up and need to put clothes on and run to class without breakfast or your morning coffee. These will be the days that teach you to be responsible and wake up with enough time to eat and get ready without being late to class. There will also be days that you will want to skip class because mom and dad won’t be there to stop you. I advise you to get out of bed and make it to that class. You will learn responsibility on these days and understand that you will not be able to skip your future job as easily as you can skip class.
Personally, I love 7:50 classes because I prefer to be awake and moving early in the morning. I don’t like the idea of wasting my day when I could be doing or learning something new. However, I also like to be awake at night when the rest of the world is sleeping. I know, I can’t have both but I like to try. But regardless of how late I go to sleep I have learned that there are consequences to my decisions and I need to be responsible for them. I will continuously drag myself out of bed and make it to class despite the temptation of going back to sleep.
Another part of living on your own involves learning time management skills. Some of you may have had to manage school and sports and other activities in high school, but living on your own is different. You may have a decent concept of time management from those experiences but being left to your own devices may be harder than you think. You may consider creating a central guide for study hours and social hours that will also work around your class schedule.
If you were wondering, no, I have not perfected the time management skills yet. I consider myself the queen of procrastination at times, while other days I accomplish tasks leading me into the next week. There will be times when you will sit down and say, “This project isn’t due for two more weeks, I have time.” Little do you know two weeks will soon be tomorrow and you haven’t finished the project yet. This will most likely result in you pulling an all-nighter, which probably won’t be your first or last time if you continue down this path. I’m not saying don’t have a social life, but you must remember you are here for an education and you need to establish priorities.
Another perk of coming to college and living on your own is the gift of laundry. Our laundry system here at HPU is pretty easy so don’t give the excuse that you don’t know how to do laundry. It is also in your best interest to do your laundry on a regular basis—I simply like to see how many clothes I have without doing laundry. Having a set laundry day in the week will go a long way in making sure you do not feel overwhelmed with laundry while you are trying to study for a big test or write a paper.
I’ll admit that my mom did my laundry until the day I came to college. I’ll also admit that she still does it when I go home on break, which for me is only in December. That being said, I personally wait until the absolute last minute to do my laundry. Now don’t get me wrong, I regret this decision every time, but that doesn’t change my actions. Don’t be like me, trust me, you will regret it just as much as I do.
Coming to college is a stressful time in a person’s life. Between classes, roommates, new friends and social engagements, there is a lot going on and you can easily feel overwhelmed. Many students will change their diet and exercise habits as a way to reduce stress in healthy ways. College should be a time of growth, excitement, and fun. You should prepare for success and independent living and understand the responsibilities that come with it.