Steven Easton

Fast

Wednesday, May 15

We are halfway done with this blog. Thank you for reading my daily posts about random things. Writing this blog was a lot of fun before, so to being able to write it again for a short while brings me great joy.

At the beginning of the school year last year, I started leading a small group of juniors, and then I decided to come back for their senior year. Tonight was their last night, which was super bittersweet, but I'll see most of them again thanks to grad parties. 

We decided to do a Q&A with them, talking about college, which made me feel really old, considering the fact I haven't been to college in like seven years, but I was still asked to be on the Q&A panel.

I can tell that a lot of them are nervous to start the next chapter of their life just by the questions they asked. It's like they don't believe they are capable of doing this thing that millions upon millions of people have done over the last couple centuries.

"How do you manage your time wisely?" one of my kids, Jasmine, asked. 

"Well," I said, "if you are able to manage time now, you will be able to manage tine in college. Know your limits. Set college up like a job. Give yourself hours that you will study, and then allow yourself to do other things in your free hours. If you can, preset your hours the week before, especially if you have a job, but be willing to be flexible, so you don't get stressed out."

"Are the classes as hard as people make them out to be?" another dude, Joey, asked.

"Not if you do your homework," the other guy, Jason, on the panel said bluntly. "If you show up to class and do the work, you'll be just fine. Also, if you have questions, ask your professor. Become friends with your professors because they--most of them want you to do well. They're not out to get you. They are out to push you and give you room to grow."

There's this idea in these kids' minds that there is no way there are going to be able to do it all, and I wonder if it's because of all the pressure we put on them in high school to do and be everything. Most of the seniors I have mentored over the last two years have had a job, participated in activities outside of school, and have taken a number of college or AP courses. Then people wonder why the anxiety and depression rates have been spiraling up. Sure, social media may have a part of it, but are our kids of the future meant to be supermen and superwomen?

After the Q&A, we went to our small group room because we were having pizza.

"All right," I said,  "I want to know what y'all would tell freshman you four years ago. Who would like to start?"

Joey raised his hand slightly, so I nodded at him, giving him the go-ahead. "Well, I would tell myself to not give in to what other people expect of you."

"What do you mean by that?" I was genuinely curious.

"Like, just because your parents want you to go to a four year college, doesn't mean you have to."

"You're going to Iowa State though, right?"

"Yeah, for computer science, but I didn't want to for awhile. Eventually, I made the decision on my own to go, but it felt like college was the only option for awhile, which I didn't like."

"Thanks for sharing." I looked the girl next to him, prompting her to go next.

"Don't stress out too much. It's gonna be fine."

Some of the other pieces of advice were: 

"It does end." 

"It's a game."

"Enjoy the little things."

"Don't suck."

That's all I remember, but four years go really fast, I reminded them, despite them telling me that the end of college seems so far away.