Friday, October 23, 2009

The Key to College: Building Strong and Lasting Relationships

Hunter Hammond


College is a completely different experience from high school; the dynamics of life, relationships, school, and personal life all are changed or modified. Students are changed in college and tested in ways maybe never thought possible. Many students struggle with this change and face the possibility of failing in college due to the level of unfamiliarity.

Kansas State published a comprehensive list which illustrates the signs of well adjusted and mal-adjusted students. Among the mal-adjusted students, it can be observed that an abundance of stress, too much partying, isolation, poor attendance and frequent visits back home are all evident. For well adjusted students, the reverse is seen and strong relationships are cited as the reasoning behind the well adjusting. With this being stated, it can be inferred that a key to success in college stems from having a strong, reliable, group of friends.

Once a student leaves home (for the most part) a steady support system is lost; family, old friends, community, and more are taken away from the equation. The student enters a new world by him/herself with no idea of what to expect. It is imperative for that student to become adjusted to this new life and to find a way to establish a support system, or else it can be easy to slip into despair.



An article from the University of Michigan goes into detail about relationships between students and their roommates. It is cited in the article that students who become friends with their roommates show an increase in confidence and involvement. This is the first step in becoming well adjusted to a college social life and in turn a collegiate life.

For clarification purposes, imagine a student who is struggling with a certain class. This student does not act social, does not leave his room, does not talk to his roommate, does not care about anything outside his sphere of influence. If this student was to do poorly in school or feel upset for being away from home, then who does he have to turn to? Who can this student rely on when things are going rough? The answer is no one.

On the other hand, if there is a student who does have a strong network of "good" (as in not questionable for their integrity) friends, then this student is likely to have a support system to fall back on when life gets hard. This is the key to tackling college life: make relationships, be sociable, enjoy life and the people in your life.

No comments:

Post a Comment