In the Woods
Welcome back to another week of school advice, wisdom, and knowledge. For the next three weeks of the School Series: College Edition, I will focus on sharing some tips and tricks for new or returning college students. Also, if there is any advice that you would like to share, comment down below or connect with me on any of my other socials, including “Inspire Those Who Inspire You” Facebook page, my Instagram account @inspire.those.who.inspire.you, or my TikTok account @inspire.those.
The summer after graduating high school was a good one. I spent time going to my friend’s graduation parties, spent time in the water or tubing, going to six flags with friends, and going for drives. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Near the end of summer, I was still dealing with a nagging injury that occurred during track season. Upon following up with the doctor, I was given a boot to wear for what felt like an eternity. Even though it was probably more so a couple weeks to a couple months. The doctor diagnosed that I had plantar fasciitis and tendonitis due to one of my legs being a little longer than the other. This meant I pounded on my left leg more often as it was longer.
As I was in the boot, I went back to my high school’s first Cross-Country race of the season to support my former teammates. While I was there, I had to hobble around the course while in a boot. To me, it was probably a pretty fun sight to see especially with how Cross-Country courses are. Usually, I would need to jog from one position to another as the race stretches three miles. I still managed to cheer on my former teammates at certain points. However, as my school’s top runner was finishing, she collapsed right near the end and she wasn’t responsive. So, assistance was called over immediately. It was a scary turn of events. Luckily, she did make a full recovery and was able to continue with the rest of the season.
Now my college didn’t start until after Labor Day weekend. During Freshman Orientation I had met a couple people, including one of my long-term best friends and another girl who later ended up being in my friend group as well. During that orientation when we were learning everyone’s names, we had to each come up with a name of something that started with the first letter of our name. I believe I said kitten for the letter K. At the time, it helped me remember other peoples names that I had just met. So, it’s a good trick to use upon meeting new people. Or another idea is repeat it out loud three times as that is another trick that is supposed to help.
When I made the commitment to go to University of Wisconsin-Parkside, I was already injured but still welcomed on the team. In other words, it meant I would start the season on the injured reserved list. During this time frame, I was paired up with a fellow teammate in the dorms. We got along great. We were similar in a lot of ways. We both enjoyed running long distance, both loved art, and just loved life. Since I was on the injured reserved list, I didn’t have to go to practices where as my roommate who was healthy did go to practices. In the meantime, I picked her brain and learned a lot from her. I’d ask how the practices went, what they focused on, and kept tabs so when I was healthy, I would be up to speed.
One night, later on in the season, we had the brilliant idea to go for a late night walk. It was definitely one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had. When we went for the walk, it was 11pm. We were bored out of our minds and nothing was open. So, we decided to walk to the lake which was a couple miles away. On the way there, we scared ourselves when we thought we saw a raccoon in the middle of the road. After a few minutes of checking to see if it was moving, we realized it was only a shadow. Normally one would turn around and head back in that situation. But for some reason, we continued on. We were determined to reach the lake. After nearly an hour and a half, we made it to another college nearby that was right off the lake.
It was then, that we realized how bad of an idea it was. Not only were we exhausted after having walked roughly 2.5 miles there, now we had to figure out a way back. The time was currently 12:30am. We tried to go in the school nearby so we could call for a ride but the doors were already locked. We thought about trying to call a cab but I’m not sure if we did. I don’t think either of us thought to bring money. From there, we tried non-emergency but it was unavailable. So our final attempt was to call emergency who also was not able to assist. After all, our situation wasn’t life or death. Eventually, after coming to the conclusion that we were out of options, we decided to make the trek back. Since we were so exhausted, we didn’t talk as much. Instead, our focus was to get back and go to sleep. On our way back, nothing too exciting happened. But as got back into our dorm at 2am, my roommate realized that she had to be up for 6am practice. I can confirm she did wake up and go to practice but she was very sore in the morning. After that day, we didn’t do that again. We attempted it once and that was that.
My suggestion is that if you ever want to go out on the town, for a late night drive, or a walk, always make sure to bring a buddy. There is so much that can go wrong that it’s better to have someone with you. That is one positive from that night as we had each other. Aside from that, I recommend taking walk/runs in during daylight hours. It’s not only safe for you but also people who are out and about. Not everyone is as careful or as responsible.
Meanwhile, dorm life was something out of this world. I expected it to be a rather tough experience sharing a small room with someone but I ended up having a rather positive review. My roommate and I had gotten along great. We had similar friend groups and similar interests. There was also the Men’s Soccer Team that was constantly pulling pranks on the our Cross-Country Team. The main one I remember was when they would put clear tape across the doorway, so when we’d open the door and walk out, we’d walk right into it. Another time we used the rolling chairs to roll around the hallways. That was more so out of fun rather than a prank. Often times than not, a couple of us would (Cross-Country & Soccer) hang out in one of our rooms and we’d talk about life.
Then, there was also the friend group who I’d hangout with too. We’d often meet in the commons by the dining hall. Other times we’d hangout in each other’s rooms but most of the time we’d go out. There wasn’t too much in the area. So, it was usually between spending time at Walmart, Coldstone, or Applebee’s. I’d often invite my teammate/roommate to join in on the fun. Together we usually all had a blast.
College is a great time to meet new people, try new things, and have adventures. It’s a time when students are off on their own away from home for the first time or have more independence and freedom to make their own choices without the influence of parental figures. In that sense, college can be a useful tool, if used properly. It’s a great way to network and make lifelong connections as well as to follow up on newly discovered interests and classes. Sometimes, I wish I could go back in time and network with fellow classmates, professors, and teammates. Today it’s much more common-place. Back then, I wasn’t aware of LinkedIn or didn’t use many social media sites to keep in contact. I didn’t understand the impact it had and has.y advice is to network, network, network. It is especially important in today’s world.
As for following your interests, college is a great time to experiment. Take that Marketing class that seems interesting, go on that weekend hiking trip, look into doing study abroad, the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, school should still be the main priority which includes putting in your best work at school and connecting with others with the hope of one day graduating. But at the same time, make sure to enjoy the time while you’re in school. It’s not an opportunity everyone is gets. Same goes for graduating.
Maybe you’ve come to the realization that the school is not for you. So, you have decided to go straight into the workforce, take up a trade, take a gap year, or whatever your journey may be. Learn to live in the moment and enjoy the free time you have. Use it to your advantage especially when you’re young because that’s when you have the least amount of responsibilities. Priorities change as you grow older. One day you have to worry about yourself. Then, when you settle down and have a family, you have kids/animals that depend on you. If you’re buying a house or car, then you have a financial obligation to pay off. The days get busier and busier. Before you know it, you’re 30 and look back and wonder where all your time and energy went too. Moral of the story, we have one life to live so enjoy while you still can.
One class that intrigued me at the time was the Introduction to International Studies class. Ever since I was young, I have been interested in learning about different cultures, religions, and so forth. I didn’t have any expectation of this class but in the end I loved it. My professor at the time had just returned from Sri Lanka, which is a country south of India. She would often share stories regarding her time in Sri Lanka as well as other countries she’s visited.
One of the projects she gave us in that class was to figure out how to bring water to desolated areas in Africa. I remember researching all the time. Unfortunately, I no longer recall the suggestion I made. But if I ever find that paper, I’ll share on it on here one day.
Another fascinating class I took at UWP was World Geography. I think it may have been my favorite class. Every day at the beginning of class, the first five minutes my professor would show a YouTube video from around the world. It provided a lot of good insight showing different traditions and events. I used to have a list so I could look up the videos in my free time. Frequently, I would share the videos with friends and family. They were pretty entertaining.
Although I don’t believe UWP had a swim team or club of any level, there were physical education swim classes. I don’t recall the name of the specific class but it was a beginner class of sorts. The class taught us five different strokes and then each of us had to complete a standard distance for the class final. I remember the four main strokes from when I was a competitive swimmer: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle but I believe there was one more that was mentioned. Our class was tight-knit as there were only four of us in the class. All in all, it was a tough workout but a fun, educational class. I would recommend it for all levels of swimmers. It helped build my endurance back up since I was injured and I was able to strengthen my lung capacity. Swimming is one of the best, if not the best, workouts one can do.
Now besides going to classes, hanging out with the friend group and athletes, I also enjoyed interviewing friends. I wanted to learn more about their life growing up and the similarities we shared as well as the differences. At this point, I would almost consider it a love language of mine. I enjoy deep conversations across many topics.
The first ever interview I did was with a good friend of mine. She is from India. She shared her experiences of growing up there and moving to the States. I remember she mentioned that she had a maid. I found it to be something cool and unique. I hadn’t met someone who had one before. I also learned a lot about the Caste System which is a a social hierarchy. It’s based on the idea that people are born into specific social classes that can determine many aspects of their life from their job to who they marry to where they live. It’s quite interesting, especially if you consider the class system we have here in the United States.
PhD Colin Cavendish-Jones explains the differences well. “The American class system, by contrast, is much more closely correlated with wealth. While it has become more rigid in recent decades, it is still more flexible than the caste system, which is based entirely on birth. A Brahmin who is poor is still a Brahmin and a Dalit who becomes rich is still a Dalit, but in America one changes class as one’s income rises or falls. A multi-millionaire might have working class origins, but is not himself regarded as working class (Enotes Editorial question)”. If you’re interested in reading the entire editorial, here is the link.
Throughout the course of the semester, I had high school friends who came to visit me. I’d show them around and we’d hangout. Then, vice versa. My friends would invite me to visit their school and they’d show me around. During one of my trips to visit my friend who was attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time, I learned a very important life lesson. After she showed me around, we went back to her dorm. We hung out, took pictures, and talked. As we were talking she brought up an idea of how she wanted to do the college program at Disney. I was completely unaware of it at the time. But after explaining what it all entailed, she asked for my opinion. Although I don’t remember what I said, I don’t think I considered the full picture.
Often times, when I’m presented with a new idea or change of perspective, it flies over my head until I’ve had a couple days to think about it, research it, and bounce it off other people. Once I’ve done that, I’m much better at figuring out where I stand on an issue or opinion. However, at the time I wasn’t as self-aware and a bit clueless and naive.
Either way, I learned a couple of things that day. The first one being that just because I didn’t intentionally mean to hurt her, doesn’t mean I didn’t. She is still allowed to feel the emotions she experienced. And she can choose how to express them. It would ultimately be up to her. Same for when I apologized. She can choose to accept and move on or accept and forgive.
I want to be in a society where it is acceptable to freely express emotions one is feeling without judgement, harsh criticism, or hate. Everyone needs an outlet and not everyone has friends or family they can share their feelings with. I feel as though because more people seem to hold in their feelings or disregard them due to criticisms from others, it is one of the reasons that has caused this mental health epidemic.
Another lesson I’ve learned is that when someone opens up about a dream or goal, support it. You may never know the impact it has but it might mean the world to them. If you feel the idea could be dangerous or harmful, there’s always another time to bring it up. The best time to do so is when a situation isn’t emotionally charged. For instance, if someone is already excited, happy, upset, angry, sad, lonely, nervous, etc. that is a sign that it is not a good time to bring up the issue. Instead, wait a day or so, allow yourself to calm down or the other person. Then, bring up your concerns. This allows people to not only express their feelings in the moment but allows them to handle them. It gives people space to breathe, absorb, and release energy, positive or negative.
At another point in the semester my best friend and I looked into joining a sorority. For a little back story, our college didn’t allow sorority houses. So, it was a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere in terms of joining. One still needs to complete the necessary requirements to join and to be accepted but it’s not on a big stage such as in the South nor is it promoted on that level. Saying that, they still did various events together as sororities do. I’ll have to reach out to my friend to see if she’s interested in doing an interview regarding her experience. She joined the sorority that we loved the next semester whereas, I transferred back home to attend Community College.
Although I loved the school’s location, my classes, and my friend’s, I just felt it wasn’t the place for me. There comes a place and/or a time in life when it’s okay to let go, to come to the conclusion that it may not be the right place for you. Each day we learn more and more about ourselves from what we like, dislike, to our disagreeables. And as we become more honest with ourselves and open to things that genuinely make us happy from passions to interests, the happier we will be. Instead of thinking that we are starting over with something, think of it as reinventing yourself.
For instance, after attending school at UWP, I left with experience. I learned first hand knowledge of the Cross-Country program, classes there, activities in and around the area. The kind of things you pick up by interacting with locals or living there and experiencing yourself. We all have this knowledge and/or experience that we’ve gained in our lifetimes. So, when it comes down to it and you do reinvent yourself, remember to utilize that wisdom.
What did your journey look like after graduating high school? Was it similar to my path or different? Let me know in the comments down below or connect with me on other social media sites. You can find me on the Facebook page “Inspiring Those Who Inspire You”, my Instagram @Inspire.Those.Who.Inspire.You or on TikTok @Inspire.Those.
As a signature of this blog, I like to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. There is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, can have a direct, positive impact on someone else. Go out there today and change someone’s life for the better.