While everything you learn in college is important, there are some teachings that may come in handy more so in life than, say, how to balance the most complicated chemistry equations.
Such lessons are actually not taught in courses, they’re learned throughout the experiences in college courses, social life and other daily activities.
Here are some valuable life lessons you'll learn in college, if not only, by default.
Budgeting
Learning to budget comes in handy with resourcefulness as well. If you’re forced to be on a budget – as in, you have no choice but to budget your money out, you’ll learn how to scrimp and save.
That way, when you’re in the work force and your budget (hopefully) isn't as tight as when you were a college student, you’ll still make smarter financial decisions.
Independence
If you don’t worry about yourself in college, nobody else is going to do it for you.
Sure, your family and friends check in on you, but you’re the sole person responsible for you - 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
If that doesn't teach you to be independent, nothing will.
Multi-tasking
Similar to prioritizing your tasks, you’ve learned to switch gears at the drop of a hat. You need to - with so much to do; you don’t really have a choice.
Often times you have to do more than one thing at a time. But that’s OK, you’ve got this down pact to an art form.
Welcome to the work-life balance, where you’ll be “business you” one minute and “social you” the next. Not to mention, perhaps one day, becoming someone's “mom” or “dad.”
Motivation
Sure, you don’t want to write that paper. But, you know you have to and you muster up the motivation to because you know your GPA depends on the grade you receive.
Don’t want to go to class? Fine, but you won’t learn what’s on the exam. So you go – reluctantly. But, the point is, you go.
Through such experiences, you’ve learned that life, unfortunately, consists of a lot of things you’re going to have to do, even though you don’t want to.
Boring meetings, paying bills, going to work – these are all tasks in life that nobody wants to do but, as functioning members of society, must do. It’s a bummer – get used to it.
Note-Taking
You may think note-taking ends once you've graduated. It doesn't.
There are meetings, conferences and seminars all waiting for you to attend and take notes on.
Your job will often depend on the accuracy of these notes, so it’s a good thing you’ll master the art.
Prioritizing
Even though you have an estimated million (give or take a few) things to do; you know what needs to be done when. You have to learn to schedule your time based on the task at hand and get things done based on their level of importance.
Assuming this applies to you: congratulations, you know how to prioritize. If it doesn't, you’ll learn soon enough in life, because when things don’t get done, negative repercussions tend to happen.
Working with Others
You know that group project you had with the terrible group member that did nothing? Yeah, the same thing happens in the “real” world – lazy people are everywhere. But you got through it with your other group members.
The good news? You now know how to deal with others and have adapted to skill sets required in every workplace.
Maybe you can’t report a lazy person to your boss like you can to your professor, but at least you’ll know how to do your part and work around them.
Resourcefulness
If or when you’re in college, you’re likely a broke student with limited resources. As a result, you have to learn to utilize things like student discounts, freebies and ways to “make things work.”
These challenges help you become more resourceful – looking for the possibilities rather than settling on what’s in front of you.
It’s a great way to be in life, too, because you’ll be ahead in finding the best options for your budget and lifestyle.
Can you think of any other valuable life skills you had to learn in college?
Can you think of any other valuable life skills you had to learn in college?
