Nate – College Life

Tug of War

When you are an incoming freshman, it can be very confusing. That’s what it was for me. It’s all about what happens early. One of the first moves you should probably make is gathering some friends that you like. I would suggest doing this during welcome week festivities or signing up for a club or two at Org Smorg. Both of those happened to me. Also, make a routine. Make sure you get your priorities straight. One of the biggest things I can say in my academic testimony is that balancing school, mental health, sports, fun, among other responsibilities and pleasures is one of the hardest things to master.

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/international-tug-of-war-day/

I have a tendency to shut down and get hard on myself. If you have negative self-talk and/or a bad attitude, the situation will balloon into a bigger problem. I picked a bad routine. I decided to take recreation, amenities, and fun more seriously. I was involved with 4 clubs (one of which consumed multiple evenings of studying in September). It’s a very dangerous road. I got behind in US History and it has led me to a very dark path. The road to recovery is very daunting. I cut that time-consuming club out of my schedule. Overall, make sure you have the right friends that won’t tear you down, make sure you’re making adequate time for school, have some activities to get involved in, take care of yourself, don’t be pulling all-nighters, and you’ll be just fine.

How Much Is Too Much Involvement?

I think everyone should at least get involved with one on-campus activity. If your world just revolves around school, that hinders opportunities to build friendships. In my point of view, if you don’t have friends, you’re going to be in a world of hurt. Also, it’s always good to do more than just studying. That’s one of my motives to get involved. Because to be honest, I wouldn’t want a boring life just studying and playing video games. In terms of what activities to get involved in, that solely depends on your interests and motivations. I would give intramural sports a go. It’s good to stay active, make new friends, and find something that interests you. There’s flag football, basketball, badminton, cornhole, volleyball, just to name a few.

However, I think you should set limits on how much you’re involved in. I can testify to this. I was involved with Cru, intramural flag football and basketball, and a fraternity. I had to drop the fraternity because it didn’t work for my schedule, the people weren’t the best for me, it cost too much, and it just didn’t feel right for me. But, with the activities I’m currently involved in, people accepted me for who I was, it didn’t cost anything, and I don’t mind doing it. By doing the activities I invest my time in, I’ve made some very good friends and ones that I like to be around. At the end of the day, I think you have to do what’s best for you in terms of balancing fun and school, making sure they’re activities you genuinely enjoy, and the peers in the group are the right fit for you.

Image source: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/sports/hs/article/Multi-sport-athletes-say-diversifying-helps-them-11196851.php

Collegiate Beginnings

There are many things in college that are going well thus far. One of the things is my activity outside of class. I’m involved in intramural football and basketball, and Cru. Outside of those activities, I like to weightlift to keep myself conditioned for football, basketball, and life in general. Another thing that’s going well is my fresh start. I’ve made a lot of friends during welcome week, intramurals, and Cru. I’ve been having a good time distinguishing between who is a real friend and whom I shouldn’t be around.

There are a lot of bad things however. I have a lot of issues balancing my fun and school. I keep a small circle so I’m limiting who I can build trust with. I have trust issues so it takes a lot to earn my trust. I come from a town with a lot of fake friends. So I’m very paranoid that people are going to switch up on me. Another thing that I struggle with is going to class on a consistent basis. I get so consumed by negative things in life like not being able to become a manager for the men’s basketball team, paranoia, trauma from my hometown, my room situation, and making time for myself. With all that’s going on, it’s hard to be consistent by staying on top of things and building good habits. But, I’m trying to combat these issues one day at a time. I’m seeing a couple people (i.e. a dean, tutor, and an academic success coach weekly, and a counselor biweekly). At the end of the day, it’s always good to think about the good and not the bad.

Source: osu.edu