Editorial Welcome to First-Years
Editor-in-Chief Shares Some Nuggets of Wisdom
Timothy Mackie
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Opinion
This is it people. College. You're on your own, miles away from your parents, siblings, friends, dogs and cats. For the next four years of your life, you are a knowledge machine: a bleary-eyed, coffee-addled study rat.
As I'm sure you've heard from professors, student leaders, chapel speakers, and Pres. Phipps, you are at the onset of a great journey. This is cliche, but many of the most important things in life are cliche. At some point this semester, this journey will get tough: very tough. As you're shedding hair and tossing empty Red Bull cans with a frequency usually reserved for cross-continental truckers, you will ask yourself that obnoxious little question: "Why?"
I feel your pain. Trust me, as a senior I've been there for three years now. I'd like to think that I'm stronger for it, but only time will tell. I can't make it any easier for you except to assure you that in the end, the good outweighs the bad and the ugly.
To clarify, I'm not trying to scare the crap out of you. I want to help prepare you. I thought about the habits and actions that worked for me during my first-year at Messiah College as well as those which I could've done without. So without further preface, here's the official Swinging Bridge First-Year Survival Guide.
1. Work out conflicts in your dorms as quickly as possible. Don't let anything fester.
2. Make friends with upperclassmen. We have cars, apartments, experience, and sweet connections. Furthermore, we want to take you under our wing; it's an ego-boost for us.
3. Take advantage of Messiah College's small class sizes to get to know your professors. Build relationships that will last beyond your four years here.
4. Study hard for tests, but don't pull all-nighters. You'll do better with less head-knowledge and more ability to think on your feet.
5. Take advantage of fun when it comes your way. We have an entire Student Activities Board devoted to fun. Work hard, party hard.
6. Keep your own stash of toilet paper. Trust me.
7. Start thinking now about Philly Campus and study abroad.
8. Never shrink from a challenge. You came to Messiah College to be the best. If you wanted any old Bachelor's Degree, you could've gotten that at a state school.
9. Don't let a bad experience discourage you. Remember that on the scales of life, every trial is balanced with joy.
10. Above all, keep an open mind. Four years of college will change you more than you can imagine. Be prepared to question everything.
There's this part in Finding Forrester when Sean Connery points at the camera like Uncle Sam and declares, "You're the man now, dog." Remember that one, first-years. From now until May 2013, you have the power to forge yourself into anything you want to be. Stay focused, speak the truth, and get ready for the best years of your life.
As I'm sure you've heard from professors, student leaders, chapel speakers, and Pres. Phipps, you are at the onset of a great journey. This is cliche, but many of the most important things in life are cliche. At some point this semester, this journey will get tough: very tough. As you're shedding hair and tossing empty Red Bull cans with a frequency usually reserved for cross-continental truckers, you will ask yourself that obnoxious little question: "Why?"
I feel your pain. Trust me, as a senior I've been there for three years now. I'd like to think that I'm stronger for it, but only time will tell. I can't make it any easier for you except to assure you that in the end, the good outweighs the bad and the ugly.
To clarify, I'm not trying to scare the crap out of you. I want to help prepare you. I thought about the habits and actions that worked for me during my first-year at Messiah College as well as those which I could've done without. So without further preface, here's the official Swinging Bridge First-Year Survival Guide.
1. Work out conflicts in your dorms as quickly as possible. Don't let anything fester.
2. Make friends with upperclassmen. We have cars, apartments, experience, and sweet connections. Furthermore, we want to take you under our wing; it's an ego-boost for us.
3. Take advantage of Messiah College's small class sizes to get to know your professors. Build relationships that will last beyond your four years here.
4. Study hard for tests, but don't pull all-nighters. You'll do better with less head-knowledge and more ability to think on your feet.
5. Take advantage of fun when it comes your way. We have an entire Student Activities Board devoted to fun. Work hard, party hard.
6. Keep your own stash of toilet paper. Trust me.
7. Start thinking now about Philly Campus and study abroad.
8. Never shrink from a challenge. You came to Messiah College to be the best. If you wanted any old Bachelor's Degree, you could've gotten that at a state school.
9. Don't let a bad experience discourage you. Remember that on the scales of life, every trial is balanced with joy.
10. Above all, keep an open mind. Four years of college will change you more than you can imagine. Be prepared to question everything.
There's this part in Finding Forrester when Sean Connery points at the camera like Uncle Sam and declares, "You're the man now, dog." Remember that one, first-years. From now until May 2013, you have the power to forge yourself into anything you want to be. Stay focused, speak the truth, and get ready for the best years of your life.
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