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Listen up, freshmen! This one’s for you. The Pilot asked upperclassmen around Principia campus one question: What advice would you tell your freshman self?
Many students would have given their freshman self advice regarding academics. Sophomore Nolan Saylor put it short and sweet: “Start early so you can smile more.” His advice is to avoid procrastination. “It made me not really enjoy the end of semesters as much as I could and should have,” he said. Saylor would have liked to enjoy the whole semester instead of just the beginning.
Senior Nathan Wright was quick to answer the question. “Try and actually learn something, don’t just do it for the grade,” he said. “Don’t chase a grade, chase understanding.” This is a common transition that college students have to go through.
According to Junior Falukh Sentongo, an important part of succeeding in school is knowing how to manage your time. “If you’re good at time management, you’ll be really good at college,” he said.
Junior Bre Benbenek would have given her freshman self some advice on picking classes. She would space out her general education courses so then she would have some lighter and more fun classes to take with less pressure as an upperclassman. Benbenek also said that “I’d tell myself to not worry about taking a large load because I’ve found motivation in the extra pressure a large load brings.”
Senior Enyonam Akpoblu said, “I would make the library my second best friend.” However, Akpoblu echoes many upperclassmen’s views on maintaining a balance between social life and academics. She would have told herself to get more involved in social events and athletics so that she could interact and meet more people.
Junior Matti Kenney-Blumer would have given himself a reality check. “Coming out of high school, I was kind of cocky, so I would probably try to be more open to meeting new people, be less self-centered and be more open to everyone else,” he said.
Akpoblu also said she would “Look for good friends that I could maintain all throughout the time until I graduate because once you find a good friend your freshman year, they’re going to be there to support you all throughout your whole time here.”
Benbenek enjoys time with her friends and felt it’s important to “Use mealtimes to see all your friends because you probably won’t all live in the same houses together anymore when you become an upperclassman.”
Senior Jessica Jordao said, “I would tell my freshman self that people express love in different ways.”
To sum it all up, Akpoblu said it best. “Freshman year only comes once, so enjoy it as much as you can because the rest of college gets harder.”