The College Mentality

Forget everything you know, or think you may know about college. Too many students are deceived by stories and movies such as Animal House and the American Pie series. College is an establishment; it is an organization that is run by people, expectations, and traditions. You, as a weightlifter, are aware of those "newbies" to the gym. The ones who come in with brand new weightlifting gloves, pressed T-shirts, and smell like cologne. They think they know what a weightlifter is, but they are under a false impression. A true weightlifter understands that the raw material in weightlifting resides in the movement of different metal and machines in accordance to a particular scheme, with the goal of getting stronger.

Ask yourself what the goal of a college career may be. What do you think?

The end product is a degree, if you are successful. The higher the grades you obtain, the better off you odds at landing a good job may be. So the weight trainer in you consistently lifts weights to grow stronger. The college student in you should equally be consist ant in course attendance and self study to successfully obtain the degree, with which you will use to get a job.

Let us break down the institution of college. I want to first emphasis the word "institution". Its definition according to Webster's Dictionary is, "a significant practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture." You see, the institution is the magic that mixes the buildings and professors and textbooks and examinations creating a factory for degrees, and as a side note, produces a whirlwind of circulating knowledge, which a wise student may discover a trace of. You see, college is human-made. It consists of the very same politics you encountered in high school, in middle school, and elementary school. It is composed of the politics you faced in the neighborhood, playground, and... in the weight room. Let me explain that when I use the term "politics", it is to foster the concept of people networking, building relations, and pursuing a certain degree of power. To understand this is to create an advantage in the college environment. You must melt-down the iron concepts you have previously forged. Take some time to examine the concept you have built about this institution. Write down what you come up with and visualize it. Stare at it. Analyze it in such a way to evaluate fact from fantasy. Our human minds are beautiful things, full of imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, however, our imagination often gets in the way of our facing reality. The point I am trying to make here is that the reality of college is very different from what we imagine it to be. It is quite common to envision college to be an instituion set in stone, where one must follow rules A to Z to graduate. For example, "if I study for this exam, I will pass. If I go to class, I will pass. If I ask questions, I will pass." While these are all generally correct assumptions, they err in their duality. NEVER believe that success will occur by following the rules, which dictate reading, writing, attending, discussing, etc. There is a game plan you must follow. You must use strategy. You are not a robot in a sterile institution, following a programed code to graduation. You are a living beast in the wild. The wild is not confined to the forests and mountains; it comes in many disguises. You are in a battle, you must understand this. It is you verses each professor, each administrator, and each adviser that has say in your graduation. The conflict is not one against another, rather one (you) who must gain approval by the other (them). It is still a conflict for you start on level playing field and must climb to the top of your senior year to graduate successfully. While those mentioned are there to evaluate, to judge, they are also their to show you the way. View them as spiritual guides, beings that can not physically aid you in your success, but will give both direct guidlines and also subtle hints about how to succeed.