Checklist of 50 Things to do @IITK.pdf

7/27/2019 Checklist of 50 Things to do @IITK.pdf

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*"50 Things"*

Dear Class of 2010,

As you begin your college experience, and I prepare for my 10-year

college reunion, I thought I'd leave you with the things that, in

retrospect, I think are important as you navigate the next four years. I

hope that some of them are helpful.

1) Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.

2) Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for

a few minutes.

*3) In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to

memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever - just

make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they'll be as

effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments.

4) Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon.

5) Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and

creative. If you're nocturnal and do your best work late at night,

embrace that. It may be the only time in your life when you can.

6) If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don't

let people tell you that you "should be more organized" or that you

"should plan better." Different things work for different people.

Personally, I worked best under pressure - so I always procrastinated...

and always kicked ass (which annoyed my friends to no end). Use the

freedom that comes with not having grades first semester to experimentand see what works best for you.

7) At least a few times in your college career, do something fun and

irresponsible when you should be studying. The night before my freshman

year psych final, my roommate somehow scored front row seats to the

Indigo Girls at a venue 2 hours away. I didn't do so well on the final,

but I haven't thought about psych since 1993. I've thought about the

experience of going to that show (with the guy who is now my son's

godfather) at least once a month ever since.

*8) Become friends with your favorite professors. Recognize that they

can learn from you too - in fact, that's part of the reason they choseto be professors.

9) Carve out an hour every single day to be alone. (Sleeping doesn't count.)

10) Go on dates. Don't feel like every date has to turn into a relationship.

11) Don't date someone your roommate has been in a relationship with.

12) When your friends' parents visit, include them. You'll get free

food, etc., and you'll help them to feel like they're cool, hangin' with

the hip college kids.

*13) In the first month of college, send a hand-written letter to

someone who made college possible for you and describe your adventures


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thus far. It will mean a lot to him/her now, and it will mean a lot to

you in ten years when he/she shows it to you.

14) Embrace the differences between you and your classmates. Always be

asking yourself, "what can I learn from this person?" More of your

education will come from this than from any classroom.

15) All-nighters are entirely overrated.

16) For those of you who have come to college in a long-distance

relationship with someone from high school: despite what many will tell

you, it can work. The key is to not let your relationship interfere with

your college experience. If you don't want to date anyone else, that's

totally fine! What's not fine, however, is missing out on a lot of

defining experiences because you're on the phone with your

boyfriend/girlfriend for three hours every day.

17) Working things out between friends is best done in person, not over

email. (IM does not count as "in person.") Often someone's facialexpressions will tell you more than his/her words.

*18) Take risks.

[invalid for IITK :P] 19) Don't be afraid of (or excited by) the co-ed

bathrooms.

The thrill is over in about 2 seconds

20) Wednesday is the middle of the week; therefore on wednesday night

the week is more than half over. You should celebrate accordingly. (It

makes thursday and friday a lot more fun.)

21) Welcome failure into your lives. It's how we grow. What matters is

not that you failed, but that you recovered.

*22) Take some classes that have nothing to do with your major(s),

purely for the fun of it.

23) It's important to think about the future, but it's more important to

be present in the now. You won't get the most out of college if you

think of it as a stepping stone.

24) When you're living on a college campus with 400 things going on

every second of every day, watching TV (movies/serials) is pretty much awaste of your time and a waste of your parents' money. If you're going

to watch, watch with friends so at least you can call it a "valuable

social experience."

25) Don't be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don't take it for

granted. Celebrate it, but don't let it define your college experience.

26) Much of the time you once had for pleasure reading is going to

disappear. Keep a list of the books you would have read had you had the

time, so that you can start reading them when you graduate.

27) Things that seem like the end of the world really do become funny

with a little time and distance. Knowing this, forget the embarassment

and skip to the good part.


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28) Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment

when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are.

Embrace these, even if they are painful

29) No matter what your political or religious beliefs, be open-minded.

You're going to be challenged over the next four years in ways you can'timagine, across all fronts. You can't learn if you're closed off.

30) If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy.

Just because it's work doesn't mean it has to suck.

31) Don't always lead. It's good to follow sometimes.

32) Take a lot of pictures. One of my major regrets in life is that I

didn't take more pictures in college. My excuse was the cost of film and

processing. Digital cameras are cheap and you have plenty of hard drive

space, so you have no excuse.

33) Your health and safety are more important than anything.

34) Ask for help. Often.

35) Half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at any given

moment. Way more than half of you will be in the bottom half of your

class at some point in the next four years. Get used to it.

36) In ten years very few of you will look as good as you do right now,

so secretly revel in how hot you are before it's too late.

37) In the long run, where you go to college doesn't matter as much aswhat you do with the opportunities you're given there. The IITK name on

your resume won't mean much if that's the only thing on your resume. As

a student here, you will have access to a variety of unique

opportunities that no one else will ever have - don't waste them.

38) On the flip side, don't try to do everything. Balance = well-being.

*39) Make perspective a priority. If you're too close to something to

have good perspective, rely on your friends to help you.

40) Eat badly sometimes. It's the last time in your life when you can do

this without feeling guilty about it.

41) Make a complete ass of yourself at least once, preferably more. It

builds character.

42) Wash your sheets more than once a year. Trust me on this one.

43) If you are in a relationship and none of your friends want to hang

out with you and your significant other, pay attention. They usually

know better than you do.

44) Don't be afraid of the weird pizza topping combinations that your

new friend from across the country loves. Some of the truly awful ones

actually taste pretty good. Expand your horizons.


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45) Explore the campus thoroughly. Don't get caught.

46) Life is too short to stick with a course of study that you're no

longer excited about. Switch, even if it complicates things.

47) Tattoos are permanent. Be very certain.

48) Don't make fun of prefrosh. That was you like 2 hours ago.

49) Enjoy every second of the next four years. It is impossible to

describe how quickly they pass.

*50) This is the only time in your lives when your only real

responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day.

Be yourself. Create. Inspire, and be inspired. Grow. Laugh. Learn. Love.

Welcome to some of the best years of your lives.

:-B

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Checklist of 50 Things to do @IITK.pdf