Note taker – College Life

Talk to You Later

“Mom? Hey you’ll never believe… No… Okay, I’ll let you get back… Love you, too… Bye.”

Calling home every day seems like a natural response. After all, we talked to our families every day when we were home. My Super-Secret Suggestion for Success is to make a schedule. Believe me, nothing so interesting happens that they can’t be updated weekly. Mind you, this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Problems come up, thoughts pop in and out, and sometimes you just need advice and someone to vent to. For me it sometimes feels like not hearing from my parents every day has made our relationship better. First off, it’s harder to argue with each other when you’re not in the other’s space. I also tend to feel like conversations with my family are more of an indulgence when you can just update on your life and catch up with the people you love.

This of course is opposed to knowing exactly what’s going on with the people around you and having very little to converse about, and instead arguing. On the flip side, I know quite a few peers who do call home every day. While I don’t think this is the best idea, there’s nothing wrong with it. Even my mom calls her mom almost every day. I don’t know how much they actually have to talk about to each other, but it works for them. I, however, believe that a little bit of distance — emotionally and physically — helps to foster and develop a sense of independence that is needed for success in the adult world.

To Join or Not to Join: That is the Question

Everyone will tell you to do things on campus. Get involved. Join clubs. Meet people and do things. If you think it sounds easier than it actually is, you’re right. Jobs, homework, and too many obligations interfere with the do things part of the advice. I found it especially hard to figure out when and how to join clubs and organizations. This is why things like “Org Smorg” are important. There, the clubs and groups give you information about what their club is and what it all entails. They also get your information and put you on an email list so you can get the information about when and where the club meets and events that they’re doing.

One of the biggest tips I have about getting involved, going to events, joining clubs, and more on campus, is to not get a job until after Org Smorg. On top of that, try to figure out what days your campus has the most activities. On the UW Green Bay campus, the answer is Monday and Wednesday nights. I didn’t know that and those wound up being the nights I work late. I missed Org Smorg, one of the most important steps to getting involved, and I highly regret it.

If you wind up missing Org Smorg, try your best to reach out to the groups. However, keep in mind that they often do not respond to emails. I found it easiest to find another student who knows some of the presidents of some of the different organizations (ask around, there is always someone who knows someone). I had her give my contact info to the groups I wanted to contact and made my way to meetings from there. It definitely is not the most efficient way to go about joining clubs, but that is the unfortunate reality of missing Org Smorg. Go to events, make friends, and join clubs. It’s harder than you’d think, but you will make memories that last a lifetime.

The “BYOB” Badge

The true college experience includes staples like terrible dining hall food, over-priced vending machines, and an empty wallet. All this comes with the “BYOB” – Be Your Own Boss. The badge is super shiny and comes with many responsibilities and setbacks. Some of these have been listed above while others need experience to empathize with. Now that I have donned the badge, I have had to deal with quite a bit on my own. However, there are many pros to this new title. I get to choose when I do homework, what I eat for dinner, if I want to study, and many other choices that weren’t available yet. If I want to goof off all weekend and go to Mrs. class on Monday morning with no work to show, I can do that. There are consequences, but I decide what happens. There is no one to blame but myself for lateness or conduct issues, and I am in some part glad to be able to take over my own actions.

On the contrary, there is no one to blame but myself for lateness or conduct issues. This double-edged sword tends to slice both ways when it comes down to consequences. Being my own boss means that I can go out with my friends, but when my assignment is late because I didn’t set my reminder and went out with friends, it falls on me. Not the teacher for forgetting to

Boss Badge remind the class, not my friend for suggesting dinner, me. If I sleep in and miss class, that’s a me problem and if I miss breakfast because I can’t get up on time, that’s a me problem, too. It’s a large transition to not have reminders and notes coming from all angles. Your teachers, parents, and peers have more responsibilities than holding your hand. As children, this badge was all we ever wanted. Now we resent it, but we must stick it on anyway. There are things we must do when it is time to grow up. This is one of them. It’s time to let go and stick that BYOB pin to your shirt. It feels heavy now, but we’ll grow into it before we know it.