For most students, university is the first time living away from home, and it’s a great opportunity to learn to be independent.
1. Keep Track Of Your Time
While living at home you probably never cooked, did laundry, or went grocery shopping on your own. These are things you need to learn to do while managing your time. Try to schedule or at least track where you’re spending your time.
2. Manage Your Free Time
A lot of students fall into the trap of having this ‘unlimited freedom’ and play video or computer games 10+ hours a day, stop going to class, and it’s a downward spiral from there. There’s nothing wrong with doing that once in a while, but it’s all about balance and making good decisions. If you’re in residence, you can ask Dons/Resident Assistants or friends how to do laundry or to get groceries with you. Just remember that students all around you are in the same situation.
3. Eat Healthy
Everyone gets into bad cycles, but realizing it and actively working to change the habit is the critical part. You can learn from my mistakes and try to eat healthy while living on your own:
Aly’s Tip: When I started university, I lived in residence. I never really cooked proper meals before in my life, only canned soups, TV (Microwaveable) dinners, sandwiches, and junk food. I occasionally did my own laundry while at home, but generally my mom would do it. When I started university, I literally ate at the cafeteria every day and had my freezer stocked with TV dinners and frozen pizzas. This is what I ate every day for over 4 months.
At the cafeteria, my usual was the burgers and fries. The only vegetables I consumed were the pieces of lettuce and the bits of pickle on my burger. I literally did not eat fruits and vegetables for 4 months! I didn’t always feel the best and I started getting disgusted by the food. I didn’t feel good about myself, and it was the result of what I was eating.
It got to a point where I would rather not eat than eat anymore cafeteria food and TV dinners. I got into a very unhealthy cycle where I would feel sick to my stomach whenever I walked by the cafeteria or thought about eating. I actually started skipping lunches and dinners for days on end. I didn’t realize that my body just needed healthy alternatives. These are hard to find at university cafeterias.
I realized that I wasn’t being independent. This wasn’t the right way to do things. I decided to start going grocery shopping once every few weeks and at least picking up some fruits, veggies and healthier frozen foods. I got more of the things my body needed and I felt more energized and alert.
Adapted with permission from Your Guide to Succeed in University (the #1 College book on Amazon, recent award-winning finalist of the 2014 USA Best Book Awards and best of all, entirely free!) by Aly Madhavji at Smashwords, © 2013 Aly Madhavji.
To view the entire guide visit: www.succeedinuniversity.com
About Your Guide to Succeed in University:
How to succeed in university or college? Every student wants to know; every student tries to discover his/her own strategies to succeed – some work, some don’t. Becoming successful in university sometimes feels like trial and error – with potentially serious consequences for failures.
The goal of this guide – Your Guide to Succeed in University – is to help students in university and college to become confident, well-rounded and successful in their overall education experience. This guide aims to equip you – the students – with the necessary tools for success in university and college.
This guide will help students with topics such as building a solid foundation in the first few weeks, efficient techniques for studying and preparing for exams, getting involved, finding the right mentors, networking, job searching with potential employers and preparing for a successful career.
About the Author:
Aly Madhavji, Author of “Your Guide to Succeed in University” strived not only to have a great academic experience but to build the best overall university experience. In university, he coordinated two successful referendums that annually raise $12,500 and $25,000 to support the campus food bank and to help student refugees in the pursuit of Canadian higher-education respectively. He served as a Governor of the University of Toronto where he was a member of the Executive Committee and Academic Board of the institution. Aly was a Books with Wings Coordinator with the University of Toronto International Health Program where he raised 312 university textbooks, with an estimated value of $15,000, for students in rural and impoverished areas around the world.
Aly is the VP Strategy and Chair of Access Empowerment Council, a not-for-profit organization created to inspire disengaged and marginalized youth and engage isolated elderly around the globe. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Toronto Mississauga Alumni Association and the College of Electors. Aly has been featured in The Medium and The Varsity newspapers, the Ismaili Magazine, Mississauga Magazine, and University of Toronto Press. Aly loves to spend his free time outdoors, playing sports, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.