First year of varsity 101

So, it’s a new year and with that it comes with us starting a new chapter, for me (once upon a time, not long ago) was going to university. I was nervous about being out in the world but also excited to experience some what a first level of independence. We keep growing, the older and wiser we get. But there were somethings that I wish someone would’ve told me. So being big sis Kat, I’m not going to leave you hanging. Keep in mind that I never did school during a pandemic and I can’t imagine what it’s like but hopefully my tips can help you prep and still bring some excitement for your new chapter in university. Here is first year 101.

1. You are responsible for yourself

University is not like high school. You are treated as an adult. So that means people i.e. lecturers won’t be running after you for your overdue assignments. That is not their job. Not saying that they won’t help you (depending on the lecturer) but if you are late, you’re late. I don’t know if all universities did this but I had a set time on when the assignment was due, usually around 5pm. Any later than that, your marks would get deduced by 10-15% every 30-ish mins and don’t get me started if you don’t do the bibliography right. It was a lot.

From that it taught me how to manage my time better. Not to flex but I was that student that would have the work done, triple checked and printed the day before it was due. I stress over small things so knowing I have control to change the situation, I took charge. Plus, there are also last-minute students who will be doing their assignment on the day it is due, libraries get packed and something always goes wrong with the printer or Wi-Fi.

2. Make goals for yourself

They can be big, they can be small but as long as they for you and help you achieve more for yourself. Trust me, nothing is more stressful then doing something for someone else who usually don’t even care. Another thing you are in a new chapter, you probably want do this life thing different and start sowing things that you want to reap later.

Here are a few examples for goals

• Read one book a month

• Don't use you phone after 9pm

• Get 7 hours of sleep

• Do something fun for yourself on your day off

• Exercise 3 times a week for 30mins

• When spending time with friends/family, don't be on your phone, listen to conversations

See the one thing I am doing with these goals, being specific. By doing that you know exactly what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it. Just remember with goals you are setting them for yourself and lifestyle but if you still want to know more on goal setting check out my youtube video

3. Your mental health is important

This is a big one honestly. So here is the real tea, in my experience when in varsity you are no longer closed to the entire world. Those things that just happened in the news are actually happening in the world you are living. I struggle with anxiety and being overwhelmed and with being in first year, at times it was a lot. What helped me?

• ·Journaling. I get to basically word vomit all my feelings and once I overcame them, reading them back helps me see my progress/growth and find ideas on what I can do differently next time.

• Praying. Just being with God does SO MUCH for me

• Speaking to people you trust. The way how crazy things got throughout the varsity years, with hearing stories of students (who weren’t far from my campus) committing suicide, shook most of us. Around third year my group of friends decided to do check-ups on each other especially when seeing and hearing that everyone was feeling worried, anxious, stress and overwhelmed. It was comforting knowing that I wasn’t struggling alone. From doing that it helped us get through it.

4. If you can, find a way to earn some extra cash

This is something I wish I did. It would've taught me how to be responsible with money but also actually using and learning about it properly. Like if I knew about credit, investing and saving money properly, I genuinely think I would have been in a different place financially today but we learn.

If you are unable to find a part-time job or side hustle, take the time to learn about money so that when you have it, you know what to do with it. There are some books but if you don’t have the time, there are youtubers that talk about money and how to handle it. I like to watch The Financial Bunny and Nokuhle Kumalo . Having South Africans explain money makes it easier to understand and in a way achievable, seeing that they did it also gets me inspired.

5. Don’t buy textbooks

Hear me out first. I thought in order for me to pass my classes, I needed every single textbook on the list and actually I got a bit disappointed that I never got to buy them all because we were living on a budget. But as time when by, I never got the textbooks and realized I didn’t actually need them. In fact, I actually felt bad for the ones who wasted so much money on textbooks. I mean almost R1000 on textbooks plus university is not cheap.

What helped me pass? A library, yes, they still exist. The library on my campus had all the textbooks so what I would do is read the chapters in the library (yes, I am a nerd) and make notes. If that was not an option, I was allowed to borrow the book and make notes at home. And if that wasn’t an option I would make copies of the chapter we read in class and if that wasn’t an option, I would take pictures using my phone. My point is there is a way.

There were one or two textbooks that I owned as we did use them a lot for those, I suggest speaking to your lecturer or (even better) older students (second years etc). But with the way technology has evolved, properly by this time, you'll have the textbook on your devices. Either or you are sorted, so there is no need to stress.

And there you have it. Hopefully this will somewhat be a gateway to help you navigate university. You got this ok. Also there is a new video on my channel, check it out.