Dear world class students of great Nigerian universities, I'm elated and delighted to welcome you all to another stage of your life as a student and youth. It's with great joy that I congratulate you all for coming this far, still I want you to remember that the journey of thousand miles has just began, and for that you should not deflect from your main purpose of coming to university, nor should you relent.
Dear world class students, welcome to the four walls of a university, a place housing people from different nationality, race, family background and tribe. A place where housing people with different mindsets and ideologies, a place where there's almost no limit to your freedom as a student, no monitoring from parents, and as a result many fall prey to the negative influence from peer groups.
Yes, welcome to the university, a place where nobody's going to force you to do what's right, where nobody's going to beg you to attend lectures, write test, attendance or exam itself, BUT in the end your results will serve you right, according to your actions. welcome to the university, a planet on its own where in as much as evil thrives, good also thrive but only those who have prepared for what is to come will sail through. Still, whichever path you wish to thread ONLY YOU CAN DETERMINE, and whatever end results you wish to attain, ONLY YOU CAN CHOOSE.
Dear world class students, welcome to the university, a place where you will find prostitutes, drug addicts, cultists, party or night club addicts, book addicts, prayer warriors, follow-follow, sex for grade students, productive organisations, etc, and it's only left for you to carefully and judiciously choose which group you want to be identified with. That's not all.
Welcome to the four walls of a university, a place where relationship is overrated, breakfast is a daily bread, and being single is seen as abnormal, a place where people will take you for granted, where lecturers will demand for your body as a female in exchange for your grades. Scary right, very funny, but that's the reality of life in the university!
Don't be scared, life in the university is actually amazing but can also be a nightmare if you fall out of line. Which is why, I have put together some practical tips, which I'm sure that if you follow them sincerely, then you won't fall prey to the distractions and evils of life in the university.
PRACTICAL ADVICE TO FRESHERS
1. Set high personal and academic standards for yourself, and live up to them:
As a new student of the university, you are going to come across students who will try to discourage you by telling you that life in the university is difficult and dehydrating. Yh, just like nothing good in life comes easy, life in the university can also be dehydrating and stressful but I can assure you that if you work hard and you are dedicated, all your hard work will not go in vain.
Don't feel inferior to anyone, don't feel like the standards in university are too high for you, tell yourself, “I CAN DO THIS,” believe in yourself and make up your mind that you are in school to work and not to play. Get to lectures early, participate in class assessments, do your assignments and be punctual in everything.
DO NOT COMPETE WITH ANYONE, but do not also settle for anything less than the best. Willingness to accept anything less than the very best too often becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Strive for an “A” in all your courses. If you fall short of an “A”, you might earn a “B”. If you fall short of a “C”, you might earn a “D” or “F”. Just aim for the best and work towards it.
2. REMEMBER THAT GRADES COUNT:
The best jobs with the best pay most often go to those with the best grades. High grades imply intelligence, personal excellence, and dedication to seeing a job well done. High grades can make all the difference in landing the ideal job or getting into graduate school at the institution of your choice.
Investigate study and test taking skills. Don't limit your knowledge of a course to only what the lecturer has thought you, read far and wide. Educational researchers have studied what it takes to get ahead academically. So, take advantage of what they can tell us.
2. Be Focused:
You are a fresher, a lady to be precise, and you wear extremely heavy and thick makeups on your face, to the extent that you are the first thing a lecturer notices in class and you now happen to be one of those priority misplaced students who always complain about the inability to understand what is being taught in class. No, why will you understand, when you are too busy counting the number of guys staring at you, or your attention is consistently drawn to the fact that you don't want your makeup to clean or stain your clothes.
You are a fresher, particularly a guy and you are sagging or flaunting your new iphone for girls to see. My dear, you don't have common sense, but it won't be long before you learn your lesson. Just relax.
You are a fresher and you have already dated more than five guys or ladies who are your seniors in the university WITHIN JUST A SEMESTER, SUBHANALLAH, and you still think it's normal. My dear, if that's the kind of mindset you have, then it's either you or your purpose of coming to the university is abnormal.
If you belong to these categories of people, then believe me the consequences are dire, but you still have time to turn a new leaf and set productive goals for yourself.
3. Networking is important, but network only with people with the right mindset; get to know a wide range of people – faculty, staff, and students:
It is often true that who you know is just as important as what you know. Use your acquaintances to advantage, but don’t take advantage of them. Meet with your departmental advisor early on and frequently; he or she can provide valuable and timely advice. Get to know your teachers; just because they might have a Ph.D. is no reason to believe that they are not interested in you as a student. Get to know the majors in your field, the HOC, executives and form a study group.
3. Do not procrastinate:
Do not waste time on activities that are not worth committing to.
Work should come before pleasure. Do not push further what you can do now. Manage your time effectively; set up a timeline for getting word completed in each of your courses. Set aside adequate time for homework, study, sleep, relationships, and work. You need not always finish every task all at once. Remember, you can write at 365-page book every year if you only write one page per day.
4. Make friends, but chose your friends carefully:
Now is the time for you to shape your life through the company of people you surround yourself with. Like they say "Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are." Friends can support you in your efforts to maximize the benefits of your education, but friends who set on having a good time at the expense of a good education can be seriously detrimental. Do not be too close to people to the extent that it interferes with your privacy, do not move with people who spend all their academic hours gossipping about others and surround yourself with people who express high social, academic, and personal values.
5. Honesty is the best policy:
Avoid cheating in all its forms – collusion, plagiarism, copying, examination malpractice, etc. Students who cheat seriously fail to learn what is oftentimes important, and this doesn’t help them in the long run. Try as much as possible to be honest at all times even if it will cost you your relationship with someone.
6. Always rely on first hand informations:
Don’t make important decisions based on second-hand information. Jumping to rash conclusions based in incorrect information can cause you significant personal, academic and professional problems. If you are uncertain about something, check it out before you decide.
7. Join productive organisations and engage in extra curricular activities at school:
College is a time to broaden your horizon, expand your mind and your experiences. Select your general education courses wisely. Consider student research, field trip opportunities, or a new language. Choose courses that will expand your world; avoid taking courses merely because they are “an easy A” or a “blow-off course.”
Get a part-time job or learn a skill. Studies show that students who work from about 8-10 hours per week tend to organize and spend their “free” time more wisely. Be upbeat, volunteer for organisations or clubs, join productive organisations like JCI, LASU DEBATE SOCIETY, ROTARY CLUB, etc. They are going to help you gain more experience and improve your network.
8. Dress modestly: Remember that you are going to be addressed by the way you dress and your mode of dressing will either attract the right or wrong set of people into your life. You cannot be a student, talk more of a fresher and your clothes are so tight that the shape of your underwear, which is meant to be hidden, is so obvious that anyone especially a guy walking behind you unconsciously fixes his gaze at your back side instead of looking ahead.
Or despite the fact that your clothes are tight, you are now walking in a seductive way just to attract the opposite sex. If you are planning on threading this path as a lady, just know that, you will only attract naive fools like you who will only destroy each other's lives at the end of the day. Not just that, you are prone to RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE!
8. Take responsibility for yourself:
When some students begin college life their sense of personal responsibility seems to disappear. It will be to your own advantage if you realize that, your parents or guardians are no longer “cracking the whip” making certain that everything is getting done correctly or on time. That work is now more than 50% your responsibility.
Lastly, as a student, irrespective of your level, please do not be self-absorbed and eager to be the centre of attraction anywhere you go, for it reduces your self confidence and exposes you to bad company. It is because, you will end up doing almost anything to impress people instead of working on your personal growth. Once again I welcome you all to the four walls of a university, and I wish you an amazing journey all through your stay in this university. I remain your amiable sister, friend, writer and well-wisher, Sekinah Alawiye, P.K.A Sakeenah'writes.
©Sakeenah'writes.
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