You’re about to start college and you’re excited.
There is a whole new and exciting world that is about to open up for you. You’ll be living in a new place and taking fascinating classes and making new friends. It’s going to be awesome and you’re going crush it.
Really.
But here’s the thing…
You’re also going to make mistakes.
You’re going to do stupid things.
You’re going to do poorly on a homework assignment or a paper or an exam.
You’re going to wake up some mornings and pull the pillow over your head as a wave of I can’t believe I [fill in the blank] washes over you and you wish you could undo whatever it was that you did.
You’re going to lose your calculus book or break your iPhone or leave the sweater you borrowed from your roommate in a restaurant booth or out in the rain.
You’re going to find yourself in situations where the difference between right and wrong is unclear and despite your best intentions you’re going to make the wrong choice.
You’re going to find yourself in situations where you have to choose between doing something that you know is right and doing something that you know is wrong and you’re going to do the wrong thing.
I know that lots of you are reading this right now and you’re saying to yourselves, “Not me! I won’t do those things.”
But you’re wrong. You will. And that is precisely the point.
Nobody plans on making mistakes. Nobody wants to screw up or get a bad grade or embarrass themselves. Nobody goes out on a Friday night thinking, “I’m going to seek out an ethical dilemma tonight, and I’m going to do the wrong thing!”
But it ends up happening anyway. And it’s okay.
You’re going to make mistakes. And that will make for times that aren’t any fun at all. Times that are downright unpleasant. Times punctuated by guilt and remorse and anger and sadness. Times when you will feel stupid and alone. But you’re not. And you won’t be.
You’re going to make mistakes because you’re supposed to make mistakes.
If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough. If you don’t make mistakes, you won’t learn what you need to learn. Making mistakes is part of college because making mistakes is part of life. And ultimately, it’s not making mistakes that matters. What matters is what you do after you make mistakes.
When you make a mistake, learn from it. And try not to repeat it.
When you make a mistake, own it. Take responsibility. If you hurt someone, apologize. If you break something, fix it or pay for it. If you get a bad grade, go talk to the professor, get extra help, and do better the next time.
You’re going to make mistakes. And you’re going to get through them. And you’re going to be alright.
