A Declaration of (your) Independence
I hope that you all enjoyed the fantastic 4th of July weekend. This celebration of our nation’s independence lit some fireworks in my mind about another sort of independence many of y’all who will be heading to USC for your first semester will be experiencing in just a few short weeks. It is the kind of independence you have yet to enjoy while within the rules of your parent’s house and stuck inside those classroom walls of you high schools. Yes, I am indeed speaking of the independence you get when you get out on your own as a real life college student, and while it can be very enjoyable, much like our forefathers who gave us our nation’s freedom, it can come with a lot of responsibility.
Looking back upon my freshman year I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I enjoyed my new-fangled college independence. Living at home was never too rough for me; it wasn’t like I was on a short leash (thanks Mom and Dad!). Although I was used to a good amount of independence at home, I still had to make an adjustment being on my own. There were no teachers telling me I HAD to go to class, I didn’t have a coach telling me I HAD to work out 5 days a week, and I didn’t have my parents telling me I HAD to clean up after myself, and do my laundry, and don’t forget to dust…well you get the idea.
Lucky for me, I think that I was ready for my adjustment to the freedoms that college offers. However, many of my friends struggled a little bit to make the adjustment to balancing school with the complete social freedom. One of the most eye opening differences in college is that if my friends wanted to go and stay out late on a Monday even though they had a test Tuesday there is nobody in your residence hall that can “make” you choose to be responsible. It is with these experiences that the whole “responsibility” thing can interfere with your newfound independence, and is what you must be wary of this fall.
So, the challenge comes down to handling your own independence, and being able to have the ability to choose between what you need to get done, and what you want to do for fun. Indeed, you will have to make your own “Declaration of Independence” to yourself that while you are an independent college student now, you still have the responsibility to yourself to take care of your less fun business as well.
Well, that is all I have. Unlike those 4th of July fireworks, I don’t really have a grand finale for this blog, just the message that your new independence will be pretty darn cool, but that it also comes with quite a bit of responsibility, so start getting ready now. All right, well, maybe not right NOW, go ahead an enjoy another month and a half of summer, and some of those 4th of July leftovers while you are at it! Take care!