Write Drunk, Edit Sober
In this episode, I introduce the podcast, talk about the life and death of John McCain, and describe myself as a rat who can’t cook.
Follow me: @DoHpodcast and @JestonTexeira
Jeston is a former student of Texas A&M, the author of Jesse Granger: Bushranger in Hit the Ground Running, and a volunteer at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX.
The sun is blazing hot and the traffic is terrible. You know what that means! School is back in session. That also means that there are hundreds of 18 year olds wandering an unfamiliar town lost and confused. They don’t know how to drive or even walk down a sidewalk. Their parents aren’t there to guide their decisions anymore. They’ll either go buck wild or become a recluse. There’s usually no in-between during freshman year. To help you out, I’ve compiled a list of tips that will come in handy no matter which type of freshman you or your recently graduated high school student will become.
The starving college student myth is not a myth. Food is easy to come by and hard to afford when you’re in college, especially when you’re looking at the on-campus options. Everything offered by your university has been upcharged like a mofo and will leave your wallet emptier than your roommate’s mini fridge likely will be. You can stock up on ramen or you can take advantage of the naive campus organizations who think offering free food will make you join their knitting circle.
During the first week of class, there is guaranteed to be a minimum of a bunch of events that offer free food. These will give you great opportunities to get free food. You might be able to socialize a little bit and make new friends but the main focus here should be the free food. Only socialize with people who are in organizations. They’ll most likely invite you to other events that are offering free food. If there’s one thing you don’t mess up during your first year of being independent, let it be this. Or stock up on Ramen.
Unless you want to be a lonely hermit sitting in your dorm watching The Office for the fifteenth time, you need to make some friends. There’s no better way to make friends than to join one of those organizations that were handing out free food during syllabus week (read: day). Most colleges have organizations that cater to very specific interests so if you can’t find one that suits you, maybe you’re just not that interesting you aren’t looking hard enough.
Studying is probably the most important thing on this list. I get it. Between organizations and binge drinking watching shows on Netflix, studying can get lost in the shuffle. Don’t let it. You’re in college for on reason: to get a degree. Everything else is secondary. Don’t let your parents’ money go to waste. And if you’re offended by me saying that and try to hit me with “I got student loans” or “I’m working through college” then you’d be even stupider than the average student if you went ahead and wasted your own hard-earned money.
Your mom needs to hear from you at least once a week MINIMUM. This is non-negotiable. If I need to explain to you why this is, you’re either a terrible child, have a really bad relationship with your mom that needs to be worked on, or your mom is dead. Those are topics for another blog post.
A lot of kids head to college with at least a general idea of what they want to major in. Other go in with your future all laid out. Reality is going to hit both of those types like a freight train. High school might have been tough but college is a whole different beast. If you’re not careful, it will take what you love and turn it into something you hate. The difference is in success and failure is how you respond to adversity. You’ll find out pretty quickly whether or not you can handle the workload required to be in your major. If it’s too much, switch as soon as you can. You don’t want to waste any time or money staying in a major and accruing credits that won’t translate to a different degree plan if you choose to change your major later on down the road. Assess the situation and figure out whether you’re going to sink or swim ASAP.
For the love of all that is holy, please learn to drive before you get to campus. Here are some helpful tips if you need a crash course in driving:
-The gas pedal is on the right. The brake is on the left.
-Left lane=fast, right lane=five over the speed limit
-You don’t need to slow down to five miles and hour to look for your turn.
-If you’re getting into a turning lane, get into it BEFORE you slow down to a complete stop.
-When the red lights come on on the car in front of you, that means they’re slowing down and you should, too.
-Pedestrians technically have the right of way but if they’re not in a designated crosswalk, it’s ok to drive as closely as possible to them to give them a little reminder to use the dang crosswalk.
-If you’re going to pullout in front of someone, you’d better time it right. If not, you;d better have some good insurance.
The last piece of advice I’ve got for you is to have fun. Don’t stress out too much. Unless you screw up and don’t take any of my sage advice, you’ll only be a freshman once. There are whole new possibilities and experiences out there for you to have. Whole new memories for you to make. Don’t waste any time. Go out there and have those experiences. Make those memories. And don’t do anything too stupid.
And call your mom.
Follow me: @DoHpodcast and @JestonTexeira
Jeston is a former student of Texas A&M, the author of Jesse Granger: Bushranger in Hit the Ground Running, and a volunteer at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX.
My little brother starts college this week. It’s pretty crazy. I still remember him as that little baby I grew up with in a trailer in Somerville. He used to run around in nothing but a diaper and little baby cowboy boots. He would love to run around the woods with me and our sister. Our parents would always dress us in the same style clothes like we were twins even though we were five years apart and didn’t look the same.
Growing up, we played sports and were each other’s biggest fans. We would be at every baseball, football, and basketball game that the other had, cheering him on at the top of our lungs. Later on when I was in college, he joined the tennis team for a little bit and I’d come down to watch him in tournaments. He was incredibly gifted in just about every sport he tried and was way more determined to excel than I ever was. It’s that heart and determination he brings with him to college that I know is going to see him through. He doesn’t quit and he can’t lose.
I put him through a lot as a kid, though. I’ve hurt him a lot and it’s a wonder he still puts up with me. The earliest memory I have of hurting him is when he was about one or two years old. For some reason, I thought people’s heads were basically connected to their necks like a joint on an action figure. I wanted to test that out so I tried to pick him up by the head and swing him around. It didn’t work too well because he started crying once I wrapped my arms around his head and picked him up. One time we were “sword fighting” with those twist top mechanical pencils and I had untwisted the lead until it was really long. I ended up stabbing him in the wrist with it and my mom had to pull the lead out with tweezers. Another time, I was throwing plastic dollar store darts at him and busted a little hole in his forehead. Another time I pulled a tree branch back and let it whack him in the face. A big ol stick got stuck in his eyelid.
The worst thing I think I ever did to him, though, was knock his front teeth out. A lot of people threaten people and say they’re gonna do it, but I actually did it. I didn’t do it on purpose, though. We were all at the beach that day. Me, my brother, and my sister were splashing around in the water while my parents and grandma were chilling in the sand. Me and my brother thought it would be a good idea to start throwing sand at each other. My mom saw us and told us to quit throwing sand so we did but we found a loophole and started throwing bits of coral at each other. The last piece of coral I threw skipped off the water and hit him square in the front teeth. They turned to dust. I try to think of ways to talk my out of what just happened but it was pretty clear there was no way that was going to happen. He’s got fake front teeth now and I feel bad about it pretty much every day. I wish I had enough money to give him the best implants. I love him so much and wish I could take back all those times I hurt him.
I know he knows I love him. He’s probably already forgiven me and forgotten about most of those things (except for breaking his front teeth) but it still sucks that I did all that. It makes me almost tear up thinking about the times I made him cry, the times I made him feel like I didn’t care about him. But I do and I always will.
I’m not gonna lie, I choked up a little bit when I saw him with his shaved head marching down the field with his squadron. He looked like a new man. He looked like a completely different person. When I left for college, he was a little thirteen year old kid. He hadn’t even been through some of the biggest challenges life was about to throw at him. That’s another one of those irrational regrets that I have. I know how hard life was between 13 and 18. Balancing your social life, home life, and the stress of trying to keep up your grades to get scholarships for college so you’re not buried in debt when you graduate. Those few years were incredibly taxing. Sometimes I get upset with myself for not being there to guide him through that. I know I was away at college and tried to text him as much advice as I could but I wish I was physically there for him.
The go thing is, I’m here now. I live about ten minutes from campus and will be seeing him as much as possible. I don’t want to smother him but I also don’t want to waste any opportunity of seeing my best friend. Maybe I’ll have a second chance to help him with some of those life problems he’ll undoubtedly face in college. Hopefully he won’t run into too many, but I’ll be here if he does.
So, J, that’s what’s been on my mind. My little brother’s in college and it’s given us a whole new chance to to grow together.I won’t waste this chance. And if you’re reading this, little bro, good luck out there. I love you.
Follow me: @DoHpodcast and @JestonTexeira
Jeston is a former student of Texas A&M, the author of Jesse Granger: Bushranger in Hit the Ground Running, and a volunteer at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX.