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College Freedom: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

College Freedom: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
5/23/2011
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Jessica Seals

Starting college is nerve racking enough without all of the added pressure from the newfound freedom that college freshmen receive every year. Besides getting used to the college atmosphere, students also have to make their own decisions about how they will conduct themselves because technically their behavior no longer requires parental approval.

Some students let the excitement of staying out all night and partying ruin their chances of having any academic success. They abuse their newfound freedom by not being responsible enough to limit the amount of socializing that they do. Excessive partying can lead to flunking out of school or a poor transcript/resume to pass on to future employers or grad school admission committees. Personally, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to explain to my parents that I flunked out of school because I got caught up in the party life that affects hundreds of students every year.

On the other end of the spectrum, some students use their newfound freedom to improve their lives. They gain their own independence and choose to discipline themselves by going to class each day, turning in all assignments and immersing themselves in positive college activities. These students make meaningful connections and use their networking skills to meet their future employers and others who will help them become successful.

Whether or not your college career takes a good or bad turn depends on how you decide to use your freedom. You can use it as a way to make yourself more independent from your parents and prepare yourself for the future...or you can treat life like one big party, neglect your studies and end up either on academic probation or not having things go the way you planned. It takes self-discipline to balance your schoolwork and social life so that it will benefit you in the future.

Jessica Seals is currently a senior at the University of Memphis majoring in political science and minoring in English. At the University of Memphis, she is the secretary of the Pre-Law Society, the philanthropy chair of the Phi Kappa Phi Student Council and a member of Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence (PAUSE), Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society, and Black Scholars Unlimited. She also volunteers to tutor her fellow classmates and hopes to attend law school in the near future.

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