• I was too confident. 

What? Well I was on the top 10 of my class in high school and studying wasn’t that big of a deal to me I’ve got to be honest here. So first semester at college hit me like a truck. College is not high school you have to understand that. It is not. I was so sure that because high school was pretty awesome to me college was going to be a piece of cake and clearly it wasn’t. Please get that idea out of your head, it is a whole new system (not to scare you) but here no one is going to call home to tell your mom you didn’t do homework.

• I didn’t use my syllabus right

Yeah, piece of paper on the first week. Easy. Now what? USE IT!!!! Get a planner right now and start organizing your semester, yes the whole semester. That way you won’t forget about that essay that the professor didn’t mention. If it’s in that paper it’s happening.

• Getting involved

In high school i did everything I could to keep myself busy. The paper, dance classes, voluntary work. And then college came and I did nothing. Get involved! You need to try new stuff, meet different people. 

• Procrastination

This is bad, very very very bad. Don’t do this (I still do it but you can be better than me). Get work done! I know it’s easier said than done but it’s so true. If you have free time use it, you’ll be regretting it later. Get rid of any distractions and start working, you can do it.

• Sleeping Bad

This one is kind of hard on finals and midterms week but for staying healthy you need to sleep eight hours, it’s science. Between studying a lot and going to parties or having netflix marathons you aren’t getting the sleep you need to get those A’s. Sleep well, try if you can to have sleep schedule, same hour at night and same hour waking up. It’s hard I know, but when you do it you’ll thank me. Go and get that beauty sleep ladies!

• Not Exercising

Yep, i gained weight. And I’m not telling you to exercise because you’ll gain weight but because it’s pretty common for people to be stressed. Exercising at least 30 minutes per day can make a difference. At least go for a walk, whatever you do move. There are youtube channels with routines you can follow in your own dorm.

• Friendships need work

In high school you see the same people on almost every class every day. Please make sure to build relationships on your first year, they will probably be your friends until you graduate. Don’t expect to be best friends with someone if you don’t put effort in spending time with them. 

• Asking for Help

If you are having trouble with a class, ask for help. You’ll be so stressed before finals if you don’t ask for help when you still can. Talk to your professors, they actually want you to learn (most of them), they’ll be happy to help you in office hours, but attend your classes and pay attention, take notes.

• Take Notes

The teacher may or may not give a quiz question in a class, sometimes it’s even more important what they tell you than what’s in the book. Believe me, write everything down, and your notes will be a lifesaver. You’ll be able to understand better your reading with valuable information from your professor. Also make them pretty, you won't want something really sloppy and all over the place that you can't even understand later. Use colors, post it notes, etc.

• Reading

If they tell you to read before a class do it. What’s the point of attending to something you have no idea about? I’ll be 100% times better if you read previously.