A look at lessons you won't learn in the classroom

By: Lindsay Lorenz

Posted: 6/13/09

Summer 2009 - My Mother (hey Wendy!) often reminds me that I'm always learning my lessons the hard way, and yes, there might be some truth to that. But it's not exactly the travesty she thinks it is. As a college student, undoubtedly you'll learn a lot during your years at the University of Rhode Island ... just keep in mind that you won't be learning all of your lessons in the classroom.

Some of these lessons, you'll see, will be trial and error … "That's what the privacy lock on the door is for." While some things you pick up will be more obvious … "So that's why we're not allowed to have toasters in dorm rooms." But either way, the one subject you'll learn most about is the one you're probably already familiar with - yourself.

Someone once told me that if you want to know where life will take you, you'll have to know a little bit about yourself. I'm not sure I fully understood that when I was a freshman, but I do now.

It's during college that many people "find themselves." Besides attaining a degree, the hope is that between now and graduation day you'll discover the things about yourself that will help you put that degree to use. Knowing your strengths, weaknesses, as well as where you stand on the tough issues, morally and politically, will give you the courage to face life's little (and quite big) complexities.

So back to the part about learning lessons. The beauty of being a college student is that you're young, you've got time to make mistakes, a lot of people actually expect you to make mistakes - not that that's what should aim for, but if your instincts tell you to go for something, listen.

On the same token, if your instincts tell you to chug a bottle of maple syrup and take a jog around campus in only your Birkenstocks, well, you might want to turn the volume down.

When I showed up at the Cigar as a freshman, I had no newspaper experience and I was quiet and shy. Reading too many books and moving often as a kid probably stunted my social skills, who knows. I knew I wanted to write though, and so after a few deep breaths, a pep talk to myself and about a week's worth of overanalyzing whether or not to join , I went to a meeting and haven't regretted it since.

That's a lesson my mom would probably say I've learned the hard way. I should have just went for it instead of stressing myself out. But I learned from it, and I know now, from experience, that sometimes the hard way is the right way.

Experience is the best way to learn anything. After all, how do you know you won't like something before you've even tried it? For many high school graduates, college is the first occasion in which you have to say "so long" to the town you've grown up in and wave goodbye to the close-knit group of friends you're used to seeing everyday (not forever, just for a few months!) Away from everything familiar, now is your chance for a fresh start. It's also chance to recreate yourself, discover your interests and make new friends, as well as a chance to take chances. Plus, you don't have to live with your parents anymore (sorry Wendy).