Students: Isabella Ciriaco, Janaina Macagnan de Souza
Dear Freshman,
First of all, congratulations, and welcome to your first semester at BMCC! I bet that right now there are a lot of feelings and thoughts going through your mind: you might be feeling excited but also scared, but, remember, community college does not have to be a seven-headed beast staring at you from every corner! Here goes a list of tips for you to succeed and do your best:
- Work on your self-esteem and if possible, go to therapy. When I went to college it was as if a new world opened up to me. I feel like I needed to act in a certain way to be accepted and to look cool, and I ended up putting myself in situations I wouldn’t do if I had more confidence. So, understand your values and who you are, this way you can take more assertive decisions.
- Start off your semester with a positive mindset: everything is going to be alright! Believe in yourself, everything has led you to where you are and you deserve to succeed; and when times get hard, remember to be kind to yourself and keep doing your best and working hard!
- Practice “idle time”: allow yourself to do nothing every now and then. Your brain needs to reset before continue. If you don’t give yourself a break it will feel impossible to accomplish even the easy tasks.
- Self-disciple: college life can be very demanding, so to stay in track with your classes, readings, assignments, and every else that comes with this new routine, it is essential to have discipline and learning how to prioritize some things over others. Be careful not let the school work accumulate to the point you will feel overwhelmed and lost. There are many ways you can keep up with everything: make lists, notes, use your calendar and write down everything you consider important, such as deadlines, presentations, homework; these reminders will definitely come out handy whenever you need to remind yourself of your tasks.
- If you are in a community college you are probably close to home – which is great! It also means you should start thinking about your finances for university and the place you would like to work and live after graduation. Time spent in a community college can be great for you to start considering your career options and the steps you need to take in order to achieve your goals. Good luck!
- Make good use of your college resources: BMCC offers a long list of services to students. Explore all of the opportunities!
