Step 5: Staying out of trouble

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?

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").