College Survival Guide

Education is the primary purpose of college – not entertainment. Sometimes you will have to forgo parties in order to study. If you take care of yourself, you’ll have a long life and many more opportunities for fun. Remember, success increases your opportunities geometrically. That means the more successful you are, the greater will be your opportunities for fun and entertainment in the years ahead.

Remember Your Fallibility

College is a time for discovery and inquiry. Sooner or later you can be expected to question your parents’ judgment and values. Before belittling their judgment or rejecting their values remember your fallibility. Just because you go to college doesn’t mean you are the sole possessor of knowledge. Your parents aren’t dumb. They are capable of the same analysis you are. All those ideas you think are new have been bandied about for centuries. Those who went before you had experiences similar to yours, questioned their parents’ values, then concluded that those values had some merit. Pause, and laugh at the arrogance of youth. Remember that youth can be wrong.

What Do Parents Expect

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by parents’ expectations. We worry that we’ll let them down. The resulting anxiety makes it difficult for us to accomplish what our abilities dictate that we should.

Stop. Court to 10, and consider the proposition: Your parents are proud of you. They’re worried that you’re not proud of them, and that don’t recognize or appreciate the sacrifices they made to get you this opportunity. Their sacrifices weren’t made for praise or profit. They were made for love. And the only way to show parents that their sacrifices are known and appreciated, is to take full advantage of the opportunity you have. Parental love and dreams are a boost, not a burden.

It may be hard to understand, but your parents bragged about you even before you learned to take yourself to the toilet. They’re proud of who you are. The importance of good grades or bad grades pales in comparison to the joy your parents derive from knowing that you are a good and decent human being. They are the acorns, and you are the oak.

Maybe your parents haven’t told you how special you are. But they think it, and they’ve told others.

Don’t worry. They’ll always be proud of you. Relax. Put your heart into your work and do your best. That way you can show that you’re proud of them.