Every day is a new adventure to be explored, a new lesson that can be gained, but it is also a new obstacle that stands in the way of you achieving the things you truly want in life. This article is mostly devoted to the new freshmen on campus, but some of the upperclassmen may sympathize or may be able to benefit from it. Many times in life, we all must start over. From the smallest child on his or her first day of preschool to a middle-aged adult stepping into what maybe the second phase of their life. There are several ingredients involved in a new beginning, but three stand out above all the rest. These three are good character, optimism and great judgment. They may seem very elementary to some, but they are often forgotten when the time comes for them to be applied.
The first and perhaps the most important of the three is good character. There are a lot of things involved in this one element and will determine the person you are going to be for rest of your life. In order to be successful in college, in your career and in the real world, excellent character is a must! Some of the key features of good character are integrity, strength and courage. These are especially important when you take that first step toward entering college. You must have a large degree of integrity so you know your value lies within you and that you can’t let anyone take that away, nor do you need anyone to confirm it for you. You need the strength of your family, your friends and all those people and things that make you who you are so that you may use that fuel from your past to carry you into the future. You will need the courage that you never thought would be possible, to begin walking on an unfamiliar path that leads to an uncertain destination.
The second one is optimism. Now let’s be honest-nobody likes a pessimist. Nobody wants to be around someone who continuously dwells on the dark side of things, who looks at the bad things about life and never the good things. But at the same time, it’s not always easy to commune with people who are always so happy and joyous about everything, but those types of people don’t come around very often. In beginning a new journey, being well rounded, social and being positive and prepared for any situation is a necessity. There is a time and reason for everything and nobody ever told any of us this path would be easy so don’t expect this one to be different. Always think positive and hope that some good will come out of every situation. In the end all we have is hope and the reassurance that tomorrow will come regardless of what the world brought the day before.
Last but certainly not least, good judgment is imperative! Let’s illustrate this situation. It’s Thursday night and you know you have a biology test tomorrow. All of a suddenly your friend calls you up and tells about this big party tonight and that you just can’t miss it. OK, so what do you do? Now you know you are failing biology and if you fail this test, it could mean that you fail the class for the semester. But if you miss the party, you may be a social outcast too! The choice you make will determine if you have good or bad judgment. Don’t ever place yourself in a situation that you know may come back for you later in a bad way. Do what you know is right and good things will follow you. Karma is real and it does happen, even to the best of us.
We all make decisions and those decisions turn into actions. And those actions turn into results that will affect not only us, but all those that we know. All these elements play a key role in being successful and to starting off with a mature outlook. There will be many outside influences and distractions, especially peer pressure. Do what you know you have do. And even though the journey maybe long, it’s worth it! In the words of Lao Tzu, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with one step.”
Stedmond Ware is a sophomore
majoring in biological sciences. He
can be contacted at [email protected].