Da snakeman said:
So, in a matter of weeks, I'm going to graduate high school. After a brief summer, it's off to a university for four years.
Since I have terrible judgment, I decided to come to you, people on the internet who I don't know, for extra advice.
Due to the demographics of "gamers", many of you are likely either in college or just recently graduated. I'm sure that you have all had interesting experiences in college that have taught you valuable life lessons.
My request is simple: share any stories or advice you may have that could benefit someone who is preparing to make that great leap into the void of higher education. I look forward to reading your responses.
Your grades MATTER now. DO NOT FUCK THEM UP. Your GPA will directly affect your starting income at jobs until you've racked up at least 3 years of experience. (And if your GPA is too low to even get a job to get experience, then you're going to have to get a job that didn't need a college education in the first place).
-Also, don't get a bullshit major because you think it'd be "interesting". You need to seriously plan to make a career out of it. If it's a major that is hard to turn into a career, being exceptional is the barest minimum, because even straight A students in useless majors aren't getting jobs, so don't even bother unless you plan on being the best. I don't even recommend trying in the first place. Those inner-city kids are NOT going to get out of the hood planning on a career in the NBA, don't expect your dreams to save you from reality. So step one is to prepare yourself to be employable, after you have a safety net of having a useful degree, you can screw around later in life by taking a risk and chasing dreams. That way if/when your dream fails, you can fall back on a career that will still earn a decent wage.
-Just to be clear about this, I'm saying that unless you're pursuing graduate education or teaching after college, don't major in philosophy, communications, art history, history, english, economics, political science, etc. etc. And if you really want it, you need to be really serious about planning for your future.
-If you don't know what major you want, pick Math, some kind of Engineering, or a Business-field. If it's unfulfilling, that's a shame, but at least you'll have money. Let your personal life fulfill you, your work life doesn't have to be everything in your life, it just needs to generate the income that supports the rest of your life.
-If possible, wake up at the same time everyday. People ***** in college about waking up for morning classes because they wake up so late on days that don't have morning classes. If you get used to getting up early, you won't mind at all. You're doing it right now for highschool anyway! And jeezus, go to class, and don't fall behind. Quit MMOs for a while and switch to gaming that you can start and stop at anytime. You can go back to MMOs during summers or when you're out of school and have free nights after work.
-Join a club in your spare time. College is a nice time to broaden your horizons. If you don't do this, you might be a boring tool.
-Don't forget to exercise, I gained the freshman 55 after I got to college (that's not a typo, instead of 15, I gained 55). I got rid of it by the end of college, but it was a pain in the butt. Just work out regularly. If you're not doing it already, start in college, it seems like everybody changed their fitness lifestyle in college, either starting it or stopping it.
-Poop at the lecture hall or library. It saves money on toilet paper.
But no matter what, do not screw up your grades.
