Adulting 101

by Isaael Sanchez

Though the main role of college is to educate students to go forward in their prospective careers, what it also does is ease people into adulthood. Students experience independence and freedom for the first time. While this can be an invigorating, eye-opening journey, one can easily fall down the wrong path if not careful. If this sounds familiar this article will help, filled with tidbits to help dip feet first into adulting.

1. 1. Your time is precious. Learn to value It– One of the most important essential skills one needs to succeed in college is time management. Being able to effectively manage the hours in your day allows you to not only function properly but also devote yourself to any activities you wish. Tips could be having physical copies of your classes and after-school activities, time-slots, and seeing what combination is most optimal for you like on a whiteboard.  Another tip is to find a studying technique that works for you. For example, do a system of 25 minutes of working/studying, and then 25 minutes of leisure and repeat. This makes sure that not only balance work and play, but the technique helps comprehend your studies the best.
   2.  Know your limits – It can be so easy to take on more than what you can carry in college. You have this independence and dedicate yourself to all the classes and clubs you can take. You can find yourself so overwhelmed that you don’t have energy for anything you are part of. Being an adult is much more about understanding the responsibilities you have and what you can handle. Analyze how you work best and how good of a multitasker you are. Also don’t be afraid to quit what you cannot take on, whether it be a class or a club. Now don’t drop everything because stress is a given of life, but rather know yourself and your boundaries and move according to them.
   3. Find your support circle– College is different from high school because, for the most part, everyone is on their own path. It is kind of like everyone being on the same page in the same book, everyone has their own books and is in different libraries. It can be very isolating to not have someone on the same wavelength as you. But the bigger picture is that everyone’s path can be parallel and perpendicular. It is essential to find your circle, your group, your safe space. Finding that place can feel so liberating and serene, to know you’re not alone in the trials and tribulations that this part of your life can bring. And especially with a campus as diverse and colorful as BCC’s, it shouldn’t be that hard to find your people.

As you begin to submerge yourself in the waters of adulting, it’s best to dip your feet in first to get a feel for it. Having patience, though very frustrating, can help students grow and develop into the eccentric wonderful people they wish to be. Taking on only what you can, creating your ideal schedule, and having friends to lean on will make this time flow a little more happily.