College is hard — good friends make it easier

I don’t mean to get sappy or sentimental right off the bat, but today marks the first day of my last year of college, so maybe I can’t help it. Although it may sound cliche, I realize with each new semester how much, however slight, I’ve changed from the last, and I try to recognize what I want to do differently each time around. Indeed, senior year seems to lend that idea even more gravity.

Usually, I set some new-semester resolutions for myself — the typical “Use your agenda more often” and “Seriously, please use your agenda more often” — but those go about as well as my New Year’s resolutions do (hint: poorly). As some of you can probably relate to, I’m not always great at following my own advice. I think most of us are much better at thinking up good advice when we believe that advice isn’t for ourselves. So I decided to try something different for my new-semester routine: I asked some of my closest friends for their own nuggets of wisdom, the resolutions they’d suggest to other people. Here I give you some of their main takeaways as seniors entering their final years as undergraduate students.

Go with the flow. You will certainly feel stressed at least once during your time in school — none of us could think of a single person who hasn’t yet. Some of your academic and professional work will require more from you, will challenge you, will make you question your life choices … That’s expected. Try not to worry so much about every little roadblock; instead, enjoy the ride.

Never settle, whether you’re dealing with romantic relationships, academic opportunities or how people treat you. When the going gets rough, it’s easy to get down on yourself. You are better than your lowest days, and no one — including yourself — should treat you less than what you’re worth.

Another friend agrees: Try to stay confident in yourself and your abilities, knowing that you can accomplish great things during your college experience. Many of us suffer from self-doubt, questioning and overthinking each move we make. Recognize your strengths, and use your talents to help others who may not have the same privileges or resources you do.

Lastly, remember that college is a time for growth. Use some of what may be your newfound independence to do more things by yourself. Spending time alone, while just lounging around or even running errands and finishing chores, can make you more comfortable in your own skin, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. Growth can stem from places of discomfort, from the friction of leaving home, making new friends and learning from new experiences — no matter what stage of life you’re in.

In asking my friends for their advice as we enter our last years of school, I realized so many of our worries and stresses are shared. Our personal struggles throughout college, though unique to each of us in certain ways, all involve fundamental themes: the tension between individual identity and the broader college experience, the pressure to compete academically while keeping up with social lives and wellness, getting over the hurdles associated with stepping out of one’s comfort zone. These are valid and often difficult obstacles to overcome, no doubt about it. But when I stopped for a moment and asked my friends for advice, I realized how much we all have to offer one another with our support, our compassion and our shared humanity. We’re going to make this the best year yet.

Mia Gettenberg is a UF criminology and law and philosophy senior. Her column appears on Mondays.