Lessons After My First Year At College

📲 The Cold Open

Lessons from the week.

With finals looming, I should probably be studying, instead I’ve found myself reminiscing. I’ve thought about all of the late-night debating in the dorm, unexpected friendships, and times I failed and got back up. I want to share a few of the biggest things I’ve learned this year, and how I’m using them to build a better version of myself.

Fail Upwards.

• Turn Losses Into Wins: Fail a test? Bomb an interview? Mess up on a project? Let. It. Go. Hell, I got a 60% on my chem final last semester. But every failure is just an opportunity to grow. College is your time to figure out who you are. Use those losses as lessons, and you’ll be more than ready to tackle the next challenge that you face.

• Send A Bunch Of Emails: College is full of people you can learn from, and more often than not they’re happy to help. Find people who are doing things that interest you: professors, upperclassmen, whoever. Send an email and setup a Zoom. I got to work on a really cool startup project doing this exact thing.

Take Care Of Yourself.

• Exercise Is King: Find some sort of physical activity you enjoy, and try to do it everyday. Go for a walk, play spike ball on the quad, or go rock climbing. You don’t have to run marathons to reap the benefits of exercise. Even 10 minutes of moving around can totally flip your mood.

• Have Some Fun: When it’s all said and done, you probably won’t remember how to do a Taylor Series problem in calculus, but you will remember the times spent with friends. Don’t take yourself too seriously, go have some fun, you’ll remember those memories a lot longer than some calc notes.

🗞️ You Aren’t In College Forever, Make It Count.

School is full of opportunities, you just have to go out and get them.

My first day on campus was a blistering August day. It was a blur of new faces, new places, and it left me completely overwhelmed. My room was a shoebox, I didn’t know anyone, and on top of all that, my dorm had no AC. That night was probably the worst night of sleep I’ve ever had.

It sucked.

I didn’t know it then, but that night was the start of the best year of my life. Now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’ve found great friends, worked on projects that actually excite me, and am making huge strides towards becoming the person I want to be one day. But all of this stuff didn’t just drop into my lap.

College is a treasure trove of opportunities, but you have to go out and chase them. There will never be another time in your life where so many interesting and brilliant people are only a 10 minute walk away. For me, I joined the CS For Good Club, got involved in the startup incubator, and made an effort to invite anyone and everyone to my family’s tailgates for football games.

Explore your school and say yes to stuff you never thought you’d enjoy. You might be surprised at what clicks. Don’t beat yourself up if everything isn’t perfect at first. You can make your college experience look however you want, as long as you put in the effort.

Everyone’s path looks different. Don’t put pressure on yourself to meet someone else’s model of what your life should look like. Be authentically yourself, pursue things you enjoy, and you’ll naturally find your way. College doesn’t last forever, but the impact it has on you will.

Be present. Be bold. Make it count.

🚗 Fast Four

Four quick bullet points to think about!

• 🧰 Tool: Gemini has free Advanced Subscriptions for students through finals of next year. This is what I’ll use after the ChatGPT Plus free trial ends, might be worth checking out.

• 🧠 Mindset: Make one step every single day towards your goals. Doesn’t seem like much, but it will make a huge impact over time.

• 🔥 Build Idea: An app that helps friends keep each other accountable for their goals. Messaging, dashboard of everyone’s progress, and daily check ins. Would be great for like minded founders!

• 📈 What I’m Working On: Finals are my main focus right now, but I’m still making slow progress on the AI text app, and am figuring out how to get a fully functional MVP up and running.

🎁 Launch Letter Referral Rewards

Share Launch Letter and get some cool free stuff!

1 Referral - Free Launch Letter Computer Background

3 Referrals - Shout Out In The Next Edition