Best Advice I Can Give Right Meow

Hello all. I don't blog very much anymore. Rats.

Time to break that cycle, at least for now. I'm going to give some advice. People don't seem to like it when I shove advice in their face in person, so I'm going to give it to the public to read at their leisure. baha

As many of you know, I am in college these days. This puts me in new situations all the time with people I've never met, having new experiences left and right, blah blah blah... So it has somewhat given me a new perspective on how to deal with people and certain things. Hmmm. That's vague. Anyway. On to the advice. (Hands up if you can tell I'm not in an English class this semester!)

Another preliminary disclaimer: This list is totally random. A lot of things will come out of left field, but they still have merit! Roll with the awkward order. Get it, girl.

• Pour your own drinks. Always. Always. Make this a rule. Alcoholic or not, YOU should be in charge of any liquid you consume. Stay safe, yo.
• Never, ever cheat on someone. It sucks getting broken up with. It sucks being the one who breaks the relationship. What reeeeeally sucks is getting cheated on. Don't be the cheater. Be the better person and just cut it off before things get worse than they have to be.
• Don't count anyone out. In life, and especially in college (WHOA grandiose statements, yay), you'll meet a lot of people. Whenever you approach someone new, try to see the best in them and you might be surprised at the connections you'll make with random people all over the place. The tiny, seemingly insignificant connections with strangers are what make new friendships. Well, they're a good start anyway.
• Don't pass judgement on people's religious views and/or sex lives. It's not up to you. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be.
• Always say hi to everyone you know. Don't let it get weird - if you see someone, wave or smile or say something right away. Otherwise you might get that awkward "Did she see me? Should I say hi? A little bit late now, huh Darce? She can't see you waving now. Crap. That'll be fun when I see her in class tomorrow." Yep. Just a wave, man. Makes life easier.
• Let your freak flag fly. People in college are weird. The people who have clear senses of themselves and are outgoing get noticed and are appreciated. Make a weird joke, say what's on your mind. If people laugh, you're in good company. If they don't, move on to the next group that will laugh at your bad jokes. (That's what I do. Ha. Ha.)
• Going along with the last point... speak up in weird places. In the elevator, the line at the food court, in the classroom before the professor gets there... Another great way to meet people and be obnoxious and get away with it. Oops. Did I type that?
• Go to class. Duh, right? Wrong. Even if you don't *always* read the textbook, you'll learn so much more having the material be put into more colloquial terms by the professor. There's some research that I heard about once upon a time that I never actually saw any study to back it up, BUUUUUT it said that you have to read/see/hear something 17 times to learn it and remember it. Something like that. Well, I don't know how accurate that is, but hearing something once more in class sure doesn't hurt!
• Talk about what you're learning in class with friends. It gives conversation a lot more depth, and it will make your discussions much more interesting. Not to mention, you understand concepts and ideas so much better when you explain them to someone else.
• Never use "text speak" when writing a paper. Even if it's just a rough draft. Don't write sentences like the one I typed immediately before this one. (Whoops.) if u do, it makes u look stoopid, lol jk but 4 realz. Also, don't write things like "This essay will blah de blah," or "In this paper I will cough cough cough." It's obnoxious. Show me, don't tell me. (You're welcome, Mrs. J.)
• Have someone you can talk to who is removed from your group of friends. It might be a family member or friend back home, or even someone nearby you like talking to but runs in different circles. You can vent, discuss, get a different perspective and/or reality check when things get dramatic or weird. It's nice.
• Get out of your room to study if you can't concentrate there. You do SO MUCH in your room, so it's easy to get distracted. Eating, facebooking, sleeping, talking to your roommate... See? Find a new space to study, where your sole purpose for being in this place is to study. That is precisely what the library is for. Or you can find a different quiet building on campus to frequent when you need to hit the books. You need quiet, comfortable seating, good light, some sort of table or writing surface, and a new location dedicated ONLY to studying. Check? Good to go.

I feel kind of pompous writing this. Hmmm. It's not like I'm an expert at being a college student or anything. I'd say I'm middle of the road. But we can all learn from each others' triumphs and mistakes, right?

Cool. See you around. =)