Hoo baby this is important. Once again I apologize for not updating in a while but this is actually the last part in this blog. Staying out of trouble is arguable almost as important as going to class because if you get in trouble, you might get kicked out of school and not be able to go to class. If that happens, I advise getting a job as soon as possible or joining the military.
First of all, you're in college. You're free of your parents for the most part and that means you can do whatever you want. Of course, with great power comes great responsibility and that means it's also easier to get in trouble and this time, mommy and daddy probably won't be there to bail you out. They also might not want to if they find out.
There are actually many ways of getting in trouble and most of them are pretty easy to avoid. My golden rule is simple, don't do anything stupid. Of course, "stupid" is kind of ambiguous as there are many kinds of stupid. For the most part, college students get in trouble for alcohol and drug related offenses. Alcohol related offenses are a little easier to avoid. It seems unbearable to most but there's always the option of waiting until you turn 21 to drink. Most people don't, however, so I'll just offer my words of wisdom. If you absolutely have to drink, just don't get caught. Underage drinking is pretty common and while I don't condone technically illegal activities (for liability purposes), I'm not against underage drinking either. Just go to a party and for heaven's sakes keep the noise level down and you should be fine.
Drugs are a bit different. Unlike alcohol which IS legal after you turn 21, most drugs used for recreational purposes are illicit. That means you'll get in a shit ton of trouble of you do them. You just have to not get caught, period. All I have to say is just don't do drugs in your dorm room if you live off campus. If you get caught, you most likely WILL get expelled. I would know because I've heard of it happening before.
Then there are illegal weapons. Most people who end up reading this blog will decide that this section does not apply to them because they are "normal" but hell I decided to put it in anyway. First of all, guns are completely illegal to own or bring on campus. Get caught with a handgun or an assault rifle or a shotgun in your dorm and you can kiss your ass goodbye. You might even face criminal charges for illegal weapon possession. Knives carry a little more leeway. In Texas, you can have any knife with a blade up to 5.5 inches in length but most campus dorms will probably cut that to 4 inches. Texas A&M University's do. The 5.5 inch rule still goes if you're just walking on campus. So yeah, don't get caught with an illegal knife in your dorm. What will happen if you do? Let's find out.
Shortly before spring break the 2nd semester of my freshman year, I decided to buy a kukri, a Nepalese knife with a forward-curving 12 inch blade specifically designed for decapitation, mostly for shits and giggles. I was a stupid 19-year old freshman at the time. Bringing a weapon of that magnitude into my dorm was stupid enough but while I was waiting for some friends of mine to pick me up, I got bored and had the even more stupid idea of walking around the dorm on a little show-and-tell trip with my new toy. I found a crowd on the 1st floor and being the big ham I was at the time, I pulled out my knife to show them. Little did I know that there was an Resident Advisor (RA) in the crowd who immediately snatched the 12 inch knife out of my hand and proceeded to write me up. Two days before spring break. The whole incident caused me unnecessary stress because it would be another two weeks before my conduct hearing (which went surprisingly well). Moral of the story: don't do anything stupid.
If you really insist on doing stupid shit, that's your misadventure but trust me when I say that some lessons in life are best learned the hard way. But hey, that's what this whole misadventure known as college is all about, right?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Step 4: Your social life and you
First of all, again I apologize for not keeping up. My life has been really busy and I just haven't had the time to update. That aside, I'm here so it's time to talk. Anyway, this blog will not be as regular because these are just the basics of college life as told by a not-so-typical college guy and I find myself running out of things to talk about. Today I will talk about social life, probably the most important aspect outside of classes and keeping that GPA above a 3.5.
I would like to start out by saying that throughout the course of my life, I was not exactly the most social person in the world. In high school I didn't get my driver's license until I was about 17 and most of my friends lived a few miles away. Let's just say I wasn't one of those kids with people to hang out with in the neighborhood. Couple this naturally antisocial behavior with an all-guys high school and you get one socially awkward shithead who decided to apply to Texas A&M University, one of the biggest schools in the state.
A socially awkward 18-year old from an all-guys high school gets put in a co-ed environment with some very attractive girls. Of course I'm gonna stare. This eagerness to get to know every single attractive girl I saw (which at A&M there are a lot) made me even more awkward but let me just tell you my advice from experience before I turn this post into a damn autobiography.
First of all, when it comes to girls (if you're a guy), don't come on too strongly. Girls, I can't give much advice since I'm a guy. Be casual, be yourself. One of the things people always told me was that I kept trying too hard to be a bad boy. Yes, that is true but also I didn't really know who I was if you get what I mean. And if you don't, then you better damn well find out. The key thing is just be yourself and you should be fine. Everyone else is probably in the same boat.
Join clubs. I mean Texas A&M has an orientation program called Fish Camp that basically gives you an initial support group but that eventually falls apart. Join organizations or even if you can, get to know people in your dorm or apartment or whatever. You might meet some really close friends (which I have) or find true love (which I haven't). You might even go to some really cool parties (A&M doesn't really have any since it's not a "party school").
I would like to start out by saying that throughout the course of my life, I was not exactly the most social person in the world. In high school I didn't get my driver's license until I was about 17 and most of my friends lived a few miles away. Let's just say I wasn't one of those kids with people to hang out with in the neighborhood. Couple this naturally antisocial behavior with an all-guys high school and you get one socially awkward shithead who decided to apply to Texas A&M University, one of the biggest schools in the state.
A socially awkward 18-year old from an all-guys high school gets put in a co-ed environment with some very attractive girls. Of course I'm gonna stare. This eagerness to get to know every single attractive girl I saw (which at A&M there are a lot) made me even more awkward but let me just tell you my advice from experience before I turn this post into a damn autobiography.
First of all, when it comes to girls (if you're a guy), don't come on too strongly. Girls, I can't give much advice since I'm a guy. Be casual, be yourself. One of the things people always told me was that I kept trying too hard to be a bad boy. Yes, that is true but also I didn't really know who I was if you get what I mean. And if you don't, then you better damn well find out. The key thing is just be yourself and you should be fine. Everyone else is probably in the same boat.
Join clubs. I mean Texas A&M has an orientation program called Fish Camp that basically gives you an initial support group but that eventually falls apart. Join organizations or even if you can, get to know people in your dorm or apartment or whatever. You might meet some really close friends (which I have) or find true love (which I haven't). You might even go to some really cool parties (A&M doesn't really have any since it's not a "party school").
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Step 3: Classes
First of all, I need to apologize for not updating in about two weeks. My life has been particularly busy with a lot of stuff that has kept me from updating.
Ok, now on to the important stuff. Classes are a large part of college life. In fact, it can be debated for those who aren't alcoholics that classes are probably the most important part of college.
The first thing I have to say is you definitely should go to class. This is because that's what you pay for. All those student fees and all that bullshit you pay for in the tuition? Most of that is used to pay for the salaries of the professors. So yeah, go to class. If you don't, you're literally wasting your money.
The most important thing is to pay attention and take notes. Yes I know that your first two years you'll probably take a lot of prerequisite classes that are bullshit but you know what? Wherever you go, life's filled with bullshit so get used to it. Also, it helps to get good grades because a GPA ideally above a 3.5 looks good on any resume whether you apply for a job or for grad school.
Sometimes you might have classes that you might want to skip because everything is posted online. I say you should go anyway. Unless the new Call of Duty just came out you are probably not doing anything better. And if you can't pay attention, bring your laptop or any other device with internet. It provides some really good entertainment and there's no cheaper thrill than watching Predator 2 on your Blackberry (which I've in fact done).
Stay tuned for the next installment which I promise I will release next week.
Ok, now on to the important stuff. Classes are a large part of college life. In fact, it can be debated for those who aren't alcoholics that classes are probably the most important part of college.
The first thing I have to say is you definitely should go to class. This is because that's what you pay for. All those student fees and all that bullshit you pay for in the tuition? Most of that is used to pay for the salaries of the professors. So yeah, go to class. If you don't, you're literally wasting your money.
The most important thing is to pay attention and take notes. Yes I know that your first two years you'll probably take a lot of prerequisite classes that are bullshit but you know what? Wherever you go, life's filled with bullshit so get used to it. Also, it helps to get good grades because a GPA ideally above a 3.5 looks good on any resume whether you apply for a job or for grad school.
Sometimes you might have classes that you might want to skip because everything is posted online. I say you should go anyway. Unless the new Call of Duty just came out you are probably not doing anything better. And if you can't pay attention, bring your laptop or any other device with internet. It provides some really good entertainment and there's no cheaper thrill than watching Predator 2 on your Blackberry (which I've in fact done).
Stay tuned for the next installment which I promise I will release next week.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Step 2: What to buy?
College is a time when you basically get to leave home, most likely for the first time in your life. A common mistake most freshmen make is to bring too much crap with them. They literally load up an entire truck (sometimes a U-Haul) and take way more stuff than they need. The result is that money gets wasted and you have an entire dorm full of shit that you're not going to use or if you're like me, will probably be too damn lazy to use. On a side note, it makes moving in and moving out a really big pain in the ass, especially if you live on any other floor other than the first. Trust me, there is nothing worse than carrying shit up and down the stairs multiple times, especially when it takes upwards of an hour. Also, you can buy most of your necessities as you go along and as needed if there's a Target or WalMart nearby, which there probably is.
Now, that begs the question of what to bring/buy. I'm going to cover the topic of what to bring, first of all. These are the bare necessities. My first recommendation is to bring clothes. Unless you are some kind of nudist, it is generally frowned upon to not wear a shirt or pants of any kind. Next up is toiletries. Bring some soap, shampoo and stuff to brush your teeth with. Even though I'm still single, not showering or brushing your teeth will drives girls (or guys) or just people in general away from you and you probably will have considerable difficulty making friends. You also might want to bring a set of bed sheets, a computer, and school supplies like a pen and a notebook. Yeah, go old school with those school supplies. Also, if you know how to ride one, bring a bike. I literally learned around the end of February 2011 (I was 20 at the time) so it's never too late. A bike makes getting around really convenient and on a plus side, you get to go green by saving gas AND money. Hit two birds with one stone, kids.
Now, what are some other things you might want to bring that do not fall under the category of bare necessities? An iPod for one. Walking around or just going around plugged in makes personally makes me feel a lot less awkward, especially when there are cute girls around. Also, nothing screams "badass" louder than listening to your favorite music on the way to class. It's like walking in to the Octagon at a Mixed Martial Arts event except it's only in your head and only you can hear it. On a side note, an iPod that can take notes, like an iPod Touch, makes a really handy little gadget. Seriously, you can take notes with it and you can check the internet with it, a handy tool to have in class. If you can take notes on like an iPod or an iPad, you will save money on a spiral, which you can now spend on something like more junk food. Yeah, that stuff is ok since you only live once. Oh yeah, having some kind of game console like an Xbox or Playstation makes for good study breaks and will help you make friends more easily. Seriously, I made some of my best friends thanks to Call of Duty: Black Ops sessions.
Weapons. College is a time when you might be by yourself a lot of the time and if that's the case, you will need some kind of self-defense gadget. Of course you'll be on campus a lot so guns are a big no-no unless you WANT to go to jail and/or get expelled. I suggest pepper spray since it's kind of instantaneous as far as effects go. Blades are also good. They are handy for cutting things and if need be, bad people. Legal ramifications still apply of course. For example, I'm in Texas so a legal knife would be anything that isn't a switchblade or dagger (double-edged knife) with a blade 5.5 inches or less. You'll definitely want to follow laws and not my bad example like the time I got caught with a Nepalese Kukri in my dorm freshman year (I'll save that for another post). Honestly though, if someone messes with you fully expecting to comply and you pull a 4-inch knife with a blade designed to punch through body armor out in response, they will probably back down and decide you are not worth getting cut over. Also, if you have time (and money), take martial arts classes.
Thank you for reading if you made it this far and stay tuned for Step 3 coming out sometime next week.
Now, that begs the question of what to bring/buy. I'm going to cover the topic of what to bring, first of all. These are the bare necessities. My first recommendation is to bring clothes. Unless you are some kind of nudist, it is generally frowned upon to not wear a shirt or pants of any kind. Next up is toiletries. Bring some soap, shampoo and stuff to brush your teeth with. Even though I'm still single, not showering or brushing your teeth will drives girls (or guys) or just people in general away from you and you probably will have considerable difficulty making friends. You also might want to bring a set of bed sheets, a computer, and school supplies like a pen and a notebook. Yeah, go old school with those school supplies. Also, if you know how to ride one, bring a bike. I literally learned around the end of February 2011 (I was 20 at the time) so it's never too late. A bike makes getting around really convenient and on a plus side, you get to go green by saving gas AND money. Hit two birds with one stone, kids.
Now, what are some other things you might want to bring that do not fall under the category of bare necessities? An iPod for one. Walking around or just going around plugged in makes personally makes me feel a lot less awkward, especially when there are cute girls around. Also, nothing screams "badass" louder than listening to your favorite music on the way to class. It's like walking in to the Octagon at a Mixed Martial Arts event except it's only in your head and only you can hear it. On a side note, an iPod that can take notes, like an iPod Touch, makes a really handy little gadget. Seriously, you can take notes with it and you can check the internet with it, a handy tool to have in class. If you can take notes on like an iPod or an iPad, you will save money on a spiral, which you can now spend on something like more junk food. Yeah, that stuff is ok since you only live once. Oh yeah, having some kind of game console like an Xbox or Playstation makes for good study breaks and will help you make friends more easily. Seriously, I made some of my best friends thanks to Call of Duty: Black Ops sessions.
Weapons. College is a time when you might be by yourself a lot of the time and if that's the case, you will need some kind of self-defense gadget. Of course you'll be on campus a lot so guns are a big no-no unless you WANT to go to jail and/or get expelled. I suggest pepper spray since it's kind of instantaneous as far as effects go. Blades are also good. They are handy for cutting things and if need be, bad people. Legal ramifications still apply of course. For example, I'm in Texas so a legal knife would be anything that isn't a switchblade or dagger (double-edged knife) with a blade 5.5 inches or less. You'll definitely want to follow laws and not my bad example like the time I got caught with a Nepalese Kukri in my dorm freshman year (I'll save that for another post). Honestly though, if someone messes with you fully expecting to comply and you pull a 4-inch knife with a blade designed to punch through body armor out in response, they will probably back down and decide you are not worth getting cut over. Also, if you have time (and money), take martial arts classes.
Thank you for reading if you made it this far and stay tuned for Step 3 coming out sometime next week.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Step 1: You're in college. Now what?
Okay, you've graduated from high school and now you're in <insert name of university or community college here>. Several things might have happened:
1. You were a star in high school and lettered in a sport.
2. You had no life like me but got really good grades.
3. You BS'sed your way through (I commend you if you did).
Well, guess what, no matter what happened in high school, you're in college now. Know what that means? Whatever you were in high school, well, that's why it was high school. Nobody cares anymore. High school is just a stepping stone to get into college or the military (and I commend you even more if you took the second route because I didn't) and if you BS'ed your way through, well, way to beat the system because whatever happened in high school does not count for shit in the real world.
It's either going to be the best four years of your life or the worst. Or for most people, especially me, a combination of the two considering that when I live at home I don't have much of a social life (or much of a life to begin with). First of all, it ain't high school. Mommy and daddy are not going to hold your hand. They might send you money and help you pay for shit but they ain't gonna hold your hand. Nobody's gonna hold your hand. Do you want to give up yet? Please don't. I'm not done talking so if you close this browser window, my ninjas will find you (just kidding).
No, all you need to do is find really good friends. I'm at Texas A&M University so incoming students have the option to go to a four-day orientation retreat called Fish Camp (because freshman are referred to as "fish"). Orientation programs are a fun way to make friends right off the bat. If that doesn't work for you, you might try socializing around your dorm or if your college has like social events the week before classes start, go to those.
I'd love to talk about classes but I'll address that topic in another post. Thanks for listening to me and take my advice. It could save your life but more likely, it will save you stress and money.
1. You were a star in high school and lettered in a sport.
2. You had no life like me but got really good grades.
3. You BS'sed your way through (I commend you if you did).
Well, guess what, no matter what happened in high school, you're in college now. Know what that means? Whatever you were in high school, well, that's why it was high school. Nobody cares anymore. High school is just a stepping stone to get into college or the military (and I commend you even more if you took the second route because I didn't) and if you BS'ed your way through, well, way to beat the system because whatever happened in high school does not count for shit in the real world.
It's either going to be the best four years of your life or the worst. Or for most people, especially me, a combination of the two considering that when I live at home I don't have much of a social life (or much of a life to begin with). First of all, it ain't high school. Mommy and daddy are not going to hold your hand. They might send you money and help you pay for shit but they ain't gonna hold your hand. Nobody's gonna hold your hand. Do you want to give up yet? Please don't. I'm not done talking so if you close this browser window, my ninjas will find you (just kidding).
No, all you need to do is find really good friends. I'm at Texas A&M University so incoming students have the option to go to a four-day orientation retreat called Fish Camp (because freshman are referred to as "fish"). Orientation programs are a fun way to make friends right off the bat. If that doesn't work for you, you might try socializing around your dorm or if your college has like social events the week before classes start, go to those.
I'd love to talk about classes but I'll address that topic in another post. Thanks for listening to me and take my advice. It could save your life but more likely, it will save you stress and money.
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