So long story short, I essentially spend the last 1.5 years rotting at home in bed oscillating from mild to heavy depression, though abt 7months of them was intense studies before I burned out. But anyway I went to a college today, a decent one not amazing, just whatever I got, just to get a look. It starts next week. And to find places to live in a different city (though its only about 100kms apart from my home).
And yeah I am kinda scared now idk. I do not really have any meaningful friends or something or a mentor to ask advice, so well I would like to hear your stories! Or any tips? I am kinda introverted, well not kinda quite a bit. But I wont say I am under-confident, I do not have trouble talking to people or something, mostly I just find hard to relate with them. Even today I tried striking some casual convos but seniors have some attitude towards freshers i guess, and freshers were too busy completing their docs maybe.
I’m back in school at ~40, so you got back on track quicker than I did!
Consult ratemyprofessor.com but don’t treat it like a bible, sometimes teachers with a strong personality get bad reviews. But if it’s mostly bad reviews that’s a red flag.
Be SO unashamed to ask questions, nobody is taking these classes because they already know everything. Asking questions is a shortcut to showing you’re engaged and thinking, on top of it just helping you to understand something. If you’re wondering, someone else is too.
If a teacher is an ass to you over this or anything else, you can usually withdraw from a class and get your money back in the first week or two of classes.
Look for clubs you’re interested in and participate. Check out stuff that sounds interesting but you know nothing about. Maybe be a little on the look out for cults and multilevel marketing.
Take the time to volunteer for a cause you feel strongly about. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of time or every week, but it’s worth doing, and usually benefits whatever clubs you’re in.
I consider myself introverted as well, it was scary to learn to do a lot of this stuff but I think it’s really worth pushing through the discomfort.
Cannot emphasize enough how important it is to ask questions if anything is unclear. Stay after class for a few minutes if you need to. Use office hours if you can. The students who did the best in my classes always asked for clarification on stuff and I was thrilled to take time and give whatever help I could. It shows that you’re making an effort to learn, and you’ll stand out (which can sometimes count for a little extra something at the end of the semester if you’re on the fence between two grades).