#i just have a brain. and questions. sometimes. unforchies.

[krytus]

i know tdp doesnt give an actual shitt abt the character dynamics what do you mean you have a scene of ezran and zym sitting in the rain and the dragon doesnt spread his wing like an umbrella over the kid he allegedly loves so much. why are you telling me this show is about love then. die.

[faebriel]

this might sound a lil weird but I’m going into college soon n was wondering if u had any advice 😓 bleh chronic anxiety sucks

hiya!! omg first of all congrats, college is so exciting <3 anxiety makes things scary but genuinely it's a super exciting accomplishment and time of your life for sure

my exp with uni in australia is probably a bit different - for example we don't really board at uni unless you live very regionally! so unforchies i don't have much advice on things like dorms and rooming which i know would be a huge shift. i guess if any followers have advice feel free to reply/reblog?

otherwise here is my advice for a stress-minimal tertiary education experience:

it's good to figure out How You Study and How You Stay Organised ASAP. one of the biggest shifts from high school to university for me was keeping on top of all of my assignments/readings/study along with work, social life, going outside and seeing the sun etc. think about - where do you study best, at home/in your dorm or in a library? do you need people around to motivate you to focus (my uni had drop-in study sessions at the library, which might be less distracting than friends) or do they distract you? does a digital planner or a diary help you keep track of what you need to do? (i tried keeping a diary for YEARS and failed multiple times - it just doesn't work for my brain! i need that shit on a phone! and that's ok.) even if you feel like you should be able to keep on top of your study and stuff the "normal" or "expected" way... sometimes your brain just doesn't work like that. don't be afraid to experiment with different ways of planning your day or different ways of studying. first year of college is the perfect time for this! go digital, go paper, print out your readings, make a big visual brainstorm or collage instead of taking rote notes. find out what sticks in your brain and do that.

for study - don't be afraid to be proactive in class and ask your professors if there are any practice questions or past assignments you can review. just try to ask towards the start of semester, not right before your due dates.

do at least 50% of your assigned readings before class. really you should do all of it unfortunately but sometimes you hit a busy week and shit happens. on those weeks, aim for 50%

join a club! social ones are great to know people, and there are also field/industry ones which can help you get internships and experience and find people who are also in the field you study. my uni at least also had a lot of nonprofit/charity clubs which are great for 1) giving back to the community 2) making friends and 3) it looks good on a resume okay i'll just be honest with you

try not to wind up on the executive team of a club tho unless it's a great environment, something you're passionate about, and something you have time for. ultimately, you're at college for your education - extracurriculars like clubs are nice, but don't kill yourself over keeping them afloat. (this one comes from experience!)

and following on from some of those... everyone is expecting freshers to be awkward. social clubs are, teachers are, everyone. i know it's so silly to be like "just try not to be socially anxious!" but for me realising that literally everyone i spoke to expected me to be awkward and kind of out of my depth as a fresher helped. you can show up to a social event for a club, decide that it's not your vibe, and just not come back. or only come to every 2 or 3 events. that is totally fine. no one is checking your name at the door (and if they are, it's just so they can count attendance and prove to the college that they should be allowed event budgeting money because people do come to their events - it's nothing personal!) it's okay to be in a club for one semester and then leave, or stay for two years.

if asking questions in class makes you anxious, ask your teacher if they have office hours - in my experience they prefer this to emailing.

and if there's something you're struggling with - they literally have a degree in explaining what they're teaching to you, they won't mind catching you up to speed in office hours if you need extra help. if they're an asshole, look on your college website or ask around your class if possible to see if there are other teachers on campus who can help you. googling your course and the teacher can also help too - a lot of the time people who have issues with a prof and are looking for alternatives will post about it online.

some unis/colleges also have student services that provide counselling - they deal with general and social anxiety cases a lot. i won't lie, some of them are useless. but some of them will be really familiar with your college campus and be able to give you really specific advice about managing anxiety

having to retake a unit sucks, but stressing yourself to death about it is worse. sometimes that's just a punch you have to roll with

look for internships and work experience as soon as possible - it's good practice for writing resumes whether you get the position or not, they're great for figuring out if you really like the field you're aiming for, and they're great for building references for getting a job later. idk my uni had a platform where they would advertise a wholeee lot of internships which helped figure out where to look exactly. i'll be honest there aren't many for first years, but the earlier you start becoming aware of what's around, the less stressful it is towards the end of your degree

missing class cos you're sick happens. email the teacher ASAP and let them know, hopefully they can give you material to catch up on. some classes have absence policies but i'll be honest i finished my degree mid COVID and no one knew what was going on

if there's something like ADHD you should be being treated for i would suggest getting on top of that real early

most importantly........PRIORITISE YOUR HEALTH !! burnout is real. chronic flu is real. wrecking your sleep schedule is real and it hurts you. we have a saying in aus that Ps (passes) Get Degrees. obviously do your best and all but sometimes you're sick or something has come up and taken all your assignment time or w/e and you just gotta go for the P this time. always always communicate with your tutor, let em know you're sick or having trouble as soon as possible. most of the time they are understanding and not assholes. if they are, well, that's their choice to be an asshole. (and if they are violating your rights as a student, go to student services/your guild and rip them a new one.) but you're keeping them informed, and that's supposed to be what they want.

ok this list is long as hell sorry 😭 tl dr is 1) prioritise your health 2) figure out how YOU stay organised and study 3) join clubs for fun and profit 4) always ask the "stupid" question to your prof because someone else is probably also thinking the same thing. love and light i hope you have the best college experience!!!!!!