Just The Beginning!

Hello folks! Good (whatever time it is you're reading this).
By virtue of the date of publication of this write up, I believe that Basic (JUPEB) students of the University of Uyo have written their entrance exams, been placed in their various departments and have started taking lectures at the bright yellow Ediene-Abak Campus of the University of Uyo. And that "oh my God, I'm in College!" feeling is waning off with increased velocity. Lol... May I gladly congratulate you for your success in the entrance exams and welcome you to the University of Uyo, School of Basic Studies, Ediene-Abak Campus! You guys are my first audience.
Also, freshers, jambites, prospective students, sophomore students, and scholars in general, will still find this pretty useful. You guys are my second audience.
Now, straight to the point.

NOW THAT YOU ARE HERE!
Yes, you've beaten the odds. Finally, your efforts to make it into college have significantly paid off. You're in! The lectures are coming in stronger by the day. I bet, the few weeks, months or years you stayed at home waiting for college seem to have taken its toll on you, and you're just recently awakening from your academic hibernation.
Let me put you through some tips to cool off and hit the ground running.

1. Accept Your Present Reality.
Waking up early to prepare for and attend classes, meeting new people from the gate to cafeteria, learning things you may have heard before (only it sounds a little more tactical now), the hustles and bustles of registration (especially Room 006, Admin Block); accept it all as the new reality. It doesn't matter what High School was for you, all your "besties" that aren't here (or coincidentally are here) with you, if you already know what is being taught in class or you feel lost in class, and the frustration that comes with the fact that you're not permitted to use your air pods while on campus (that really hit me hard). Whatever the reality is for you, accept it. You will only wear yourself out fighting an obvious reality that is designed to test the strength of your maturity, and time is not your friend.

2. Catch Your Breath!
With classes flying here and there, notes pilling up by the day, new friends showing you new styles of living, having money but skipping meals because of little time to eat, and the daily mundane task of cleaning up & keeping up with family, friends and old folks on social media, find a moment to run away from all of that and just breathe. You're at a critical juncture between who you used to be and who you are now becoming. Unfortunately, you can't be both at the same time! So just stop, ease off that pressure on your mind, and appreciate what reality now is (not what it used to be). That should clear your jumbled up mind for a while but, it's not yet "Uhuru".

3. What Now?
I guess you've been dreaming of how you were going to live when you got here, and you already mapped out your lifestyle. I also guess you've also discovered that those dreams were simply fantasies of your mind? Cool. Well, now what? Do you wanna stick to the dreams you had about college life or you wanna face the unfriendly reality of college life? Again, this is a decision you got to make by yourself, for yourself. Whatever your decision, you will not be able to avoid your present reality, and that unbiased judge will still keep saying, "tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!"

4. Organisation.
This one is somewhat broad so, I'll have to split it for better appreciation of the detailed facts.

~ Personal Organisation
This is simply your comportment. If you don't arrange your life to be simple, portable and maintainable, you're gonna have a disorderly surrounding that will DIRECTLY affect your mental stability. Learning borders on your psychology, and if you're not psychologically fit for it, you're toast. One bad test result, and you may not get over the depression that follows. Keeping your personal stuff carelessly and spending your limited time searching for them will make you question your decisions, leave you indecisive and leave you feeling frustrated. If you can't recall where you kept your earrings, socks or credentials, how can you trust what comes to your mind in an exam hall to be correct? Uncertainty is a local regular thief of time. You need to deal with it from its roots; on a personal level.
Dress smart and simple. A shirt on trousers/skirt, a simple gown, with open flat shoes or sneakers is just fine. There are no extra marks for being a "starboy" or a slay queen. Lolzz..
All I'm saying is, KEEP YOUR PERSONAL STUFF IN A SIMPLE REGULAR ORDER!

~ Academic Organisation
Don't write multiple courses in one note book. I really won't advice those huge "8-in-one" notebooks, because it's one thing to makes note, it's another thing to actually enjoy reading the notes. You don't have the time to be frustrating yourself, flipping through notes of different courses or the various segments of a course, in absolute confusion of which one to start with, or the pressure that comes with the "oh my God, I have so much to cover" thought. That won't get you anywhere. Single notes for single courses are the best. For JUPEB students, each course has about four segments (001 - 004) and you're to do two per semester. Use a short note (60leaves or 80leaves) for each. Thick, hardcover notebooks are not portable. Their bulkiness will wear you out easily especially when you really don't feel like studying. Stay small and simple.

~ Social Organisation
For the socials, do an extracurricular activity that burns you out once a week. Table tennis, football, and skipping ropes are good examples. Play a game that tests your mental capabilities about twice a week. Chess and/or Scrabble, (NOT CANDY CRUSH!), are good mental test games. The idea is to play it with another human, not alone or against the default system player. Again, be careful not to get too attached to them. The worst form of addictions are to good/acceptable things because you won't find anything wrong with them. Avoid excessive alcohol (have mercy on your liver, mbok) and drugs ENTIRELY! You don't wanna be having a hangover during class. You won't learn anything you can recall when you need it.

5. Opportunity Cost & Moderation.
There will be days you'll feel like sleeping when you planned on playing a game. Please, sleep. You'll need it. And don't say you don't feel like eating, (girls do this very much). Don't tell me "I am watching my weight". I can guarantee that if you face your studies squarely, your weight WILL watch itself. Your brain needs that food please! If you have a strong urge to study when you planned to see a movie, play a game, watch your favourite football club play an important game, or simply chat with friends, please, read first. Those are pivotal moments that display the things you value on your scale of preference. Your health and your studies should top the chart.

IN CONCLUSION,
The main point of everything here, is to give you tips that will put you in the right shape, PHYSICALLY and PSYCHOLOGICALLY to get the best out of yourself and the opportunities that will come your way. Take your time to update your body and mind one bit at a time.

WHAT'S NEXT?
In my next post, I'll be talking about what studying entails.

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Thanks for your time.
Dàkkádá, let's connect!