Dear Future College Graduate,

Welcome to your new adventure and your first step toward making yourself, and your life
better! It may have been a few years since you have been in a classroom; that wasnt training for
your jobor court ordered. If you are like me, high school wasnt youre favorite thing in the
world, and it didnt feel like it was relevant or very important in your life at the time but now
your older and you know better, right? Its time to put those old thoughts and habits to rest, this
isnt high school it is a lot more expensive. True, starting college can be a little overwhelming
at first, and it can be difficult to find your bearings, no matter what, it is going to be a chal-
lenge but no worries friend, I would like to share with you some concepts that I have learned
recently that I think will help you, as a freshman. Some things you will want to keep in mind in
your first semester and beyond are; how you are going to manage your time, are you trying to do
too much? (Remember, you will need 2-3 hours to do homework for every hour you spend in
class.) Are you learning, what you are being taught? (Think about how you learn best, and stand
back every once in a while to ask yourself that question.) Are you doing what you need to do, to
get where you want to go? (Set goals and get to know your academic advisor, they will get you
going in the right direction.)
In this letter, I would like to let you in on a couple of strategies that I have learned in the
past two weeks, that may help you prioritize and make the most out of what you do with your
time in this exciting new experience. The one thing that I often feel can be the most difficult
thing about school, is learning to prioritize your time. Practicing self-discipline and simplifying
your life, are two things that you should start practicing right-away. That is not to say dont
have any fun or isolate yourself from everyone you know. All I am saying is that, you need to


know how to make time for your new and old responsibilities, for your friends and your family,
and most importantly for yourself.
Self-discipline is a personality trait that more people than not, have trouble with. In my
textbook for my Essentials of College Study class, Cornerstones for Community College Suc-
cess, the authors say that, Self-discipline is really about four things: making choices, making
changes, employing your willpower, and taking responsibility. (Sherfield) What this means in
regards to your college career, is that you have made your choice to change your life, and now is
the time to become stronger! Do what you need to do, when you need to do it! And accept the
responsibility! Which is that you make your life! your experiences! and your troubles! (Sorry
for yelling, but this is important.) You may have to retrain your mind and cut-back on some-
things that you enjoy. You may have to force yourself to sit and read, when you would much ra-
ther play video games. You may have to tell your friends no when they want you to hang out.
These are all sacrifices you might have to make but if you always keep in mind what your life
will be like when you accomplish this goal, it will make things much easier.
Simplify, simplify, simplify. I am not talking about fractions, you will have plenty of
time to do that in math, I am talking about simplifying your life. Think about how much clutter is
in your life if your house was that messy, dont you think you would clean it. Your mind is the
same way, every once in a while it needs some spring cleaning. I know this is easier said than
done, it can be difficult to even know where to start. Again our text book, Cornerstones for
Community College Success, offers some good helpful tips to help remove some of the unneces-
sary stresses, that may be complicating things more than they need to be. Here are some of those
tips that can help you simplify your life:
1. Know what is important to you, and forget everything else.
2. Get away from technology every once in a while.


3. Dont do everything for everybody, let them take care of themselves.
4. Make lists of things you need to do, and prioritize them in order from most important
to least important.
5. Clean your home of clutter. It will save you a lot of time if you can find what you need, when
you need it.
6. Clean up files on your computer.
7. Live in the moment.
.and finally
8. Spend a little time everyday to reflect on and be thankful for what you have, and to just do
nothing at all. (Sherfield)
These are just some of the many things you can do to simplify your life, I suggest you try some of them.
It will not only help you do better in school but it might make you happier overall.
Well there you have it, my advice. Thats about all the information you are going to
get from me for free, any more and Ill have to charge you tuition. Just remember to take full ad-
vantage of this time to make yourself better, and always be mindful of your goals, your values,
and your health. It will take a lot of self-discipline but if you can simplify your life, things will
be a lot easier. Take any and all advice you can get but remember everything will not work for
everyone. Oh, and one more thing, I would highly suggest to NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST
TWO WEEKS OF YOUR SECOND SEMESTER TO TAKE THE ESSENTIALS OF COL-
LEGE STUDY CLASS! Learn as much about how you can succeed in school as early as you
can. Have fun, and good luck!
Sincerely,
-Phillip T. Wittke