HOW TO SERIES by Sittie Yasmin Aguam

Advocate, Live-your-dream-lifestyle

1. How To Survive College Life

INTRODUCTION
There you are, braving the walls of your
university! Your curious thoughts wander on
what will your life be? Ah yes! College life!!!
Youve been preparing to rock it since grade
school. You started to become idealistic:
Getting As and be on the Deans List, Having
cool friends, perhaps going on a date with a
hottie, Weekend getaways, blah blah blah! Its
okay to think ideal thoughts but you have to
remember that college life will make or break
you. This will play the foundation of your future
self.
By this time, I assume that you have envisioned
yourself five years from now. You know why? By
having a clear vision of what you want to
become, you will surely be guided on the path
that you will take.
Have a career counselling!
If you are very sure that you want to be an
engineer like your dad, or a doctor like your
mom, or a news reporter like your cousin, or a
fashion designer because you have a passion for
that industry then well and good! You pursue it!
Although at times, we know that we want to be
this and that but sometimes environment
pressure overrule our thoughts! You have to put
in mind that the course you will take must be
something which you really want to do.
Remember, it is not your parents life, nor your
cousins life. You have to be happy and
comfortable with your choice. What worked for
them may not work for you. Go to a
professional if you have the need to, or ask your
schools guidance counsellor. It wont hurt!
They have the professional skills to assist you!
Asking a hand from those who have the ability
will be a good step for proper decision making.
Or, you can have a heart-to-heart talk with your
folks; they will understand. They only want
whats best for you.

College Life means being responsible

and independent at the same time.
Gone are the days when you have to consult
your parents or sibs with your day-to-day
chores and to-dos. This means, whether you are
living on your own (i.e. dormitory, apartment,
etc) or still with your parents, you have the
control over some decisions you have to make,
whether you will stay at school to finish projects
or to just do it at home, how to manage your
allowance, how to balance studies and peer
pressure, what orgs or clubs to join, etc But
along with this independence is a responsibility.
You have to be responsible on the actions you
make. Just keep in mind that you have a goal in
life and you have to achieve this goal. Keep your
eyes on your goal and youll do just fine.
Develop a regular study habit.
College life means getting your preferred
subjects or preferred schedule or not having
daily quizzes or having a prof that only shows up
once in a blue moon. Because of this more
relaxed class hours, you will now begin to skip
classes, miss assignments, neglect quizzes, and
the like. Remember that despite how floating in
the breeze your schedule may seem, you should
develop a study habit. A study habit is crucial in
your development and improvement in this
#RoadToAdulthood. Your goal is to graduate on
time. But do your parents a little extra, make
them proud, bring home a Laude for them!
Tip? Know your productivity time and
effectivity style, when studying always QUALITY
over QUANTITY.
PRODUCTIVITY TIME:
What time of the day does your brain switch to
FOCUS MODE? Is it during dawn? Mid-morning?
Afternoon? Night time? All nighter?
Once you know your rapport, develop it by
repetitively doing it. I suggest to do it daily. You will
then get used to it and once it becomes part of your
system, trust me --- youll get remarkable grades.
EFFECTIVITY STYLE:
Know your study effectivity style. Are you effective
when studying solo or with a group or with a
buddy? Are you effective when studying at the
library or at a coffee shop or just in the walls of your
room?
Its about being comfortable.

Budget your allowance wisely!

During my college days, my parents gave me my
allowance on a weekly basis. I always run out of
budget come Fridays and Saturdays. The sad
part is, college gimmicks usually fall on these
days and its either I will ask for extra or borrow
from my friends. I searched for some tips on
how shall I overcome this recurring problem
and I have read on chalk magazine this very
useful budgeting. It worked for me.
SAVE UP FOR RAINY DAYS SCHEME:
Depending on your allowance, divide it into either
50-50 or 70-30.
If your allowance is minimum, I suggest to have a
70-30 scheme: 70% on your expenses and 30% on
your savings.
If you have above minimum allowance, you can
do 50-50 or 60-40 whichever suits you.
Lets consider 70-30 here which can be your guide:
70% / 7days = daily expenses
Just keep your daily budget on your wallet.
Remember that your daily budget includes your
expenses for photocopying. Be mindful.
30% / 2 parts: One part goes to your untouchable
savings and another part goes to your contingency
or lifestyle allowance. Of course, you need to
reward yourself too, right?
Example, your weekly allowance is Php 2,000. You
are a dormer who lives a few blocks away from your
school. Use 70-30 scheme.
70% (1,400 / 7 days) = 200 Php per day
1.
2.
3.
4.

Transpo P20.00 (you can save if you walk,

and it is healthier! )
Snacks P50.00 (Please, eat right!)
Lunch P100.00 (You can save if you eat at
the cafeteria)
Provision for Photocopy P30.00 (You can
just save this up if there is no need to fotox
(haha)

30% (600 / 2 parts) = 300/part

1. Untouchable savings P300.00 (You can
save this for your future. Invest in a mutual
fund and let it do the wonder! You should
develop a strong savings strategy as early
as college life.)
2. Contingency/Lifestyle Fund P300.00 (You
can watch a movie on weekend, eat ice
cream or you can add this to your
untouchable savings if you like.

Time Management is the Key

Surely, you wanted to go out with friends or you
wanted to have an org or club, or you scheduled
a date with your friends or special someone, or
you needed to be with your family for moral
support, or you want a day for some religious
and spiritual matters. Sometimes, schedule
wont permit. Yes, I said that class schedules are
a bit relaxed but there are also instances
wherein you have a multiple exams in a day or
submittals in a week. Just plan your activities.
Make a checklist of your project deadlines so
you wont miss anything. Buy a cork board, print
a monthly calendar, and make a to-do list every
week. Achieve it!!! Time management is
everything, a time lost can never ever be
returned. Seize it! Be productive.
Choose your friends wisely!
There are different types of people youll meet
in college. There are those who only knows you
when they need to ask you about your lectures
in Trigo, or because they missed Philosophy
class; some other pretends to be your friends
but will stab you at your back; some others will
just bully you around. Remember that your
circle of friends can affect you and your habits.
Dont be alarmed if you only have few friends as
long as these friends you have are true to you,
its perfectly fine. Having few true friends who
accepts you in your most crazy self are the ones
for keeps. You dont need a dozen fake ones.
Stay real! And oops! Caveat!!! You need to be a
true friend also. It should be a mutual
relationship.
Dont strive to be in, be yourself!
Peer pressure has it that you need to be in
and trendy and cool to belong. Who cares if
your phone is a SAMSUNG E1200, and they are
sporting an iPhone7? Or theyre flaunting a
CHANEL and youre a backpacker. Or that they
paint their faces with MAC and youre splashing
a baby powder. Dont push yourself too hard to
belong. If youre comfortable and youre okay it,
thats all that matters! Being yourself never
runs out of style.

Its okay to date but STUDIES FIRST!

My dad always reminds me not to have a
boyfriend until I graduate from college. I always
obey that. I envy my friends who are in a
relationship because they have this someone
who walks home with them, brings their
Anatomy project (Cat dissection, yknow!), and
that made me feel unwanted and sad.
Somehow I feel I can manage to be in a
relationship at that time. I started dating. It
made me happy and inspired but the process of
texting and calling the person became so
constant that it took so much of my time. I
began to cram because I slept late the night
before with being preoccupied by the feeling of
being in love. I almost gotten myself into
something I was not ready. I realized, I cannot
balance my time. So I turned the potential first
bf down. I love you dad!
Theres nothing wrong with having someone
while studying. As long as you both know that
studies is your first priority and the
relationship comes second or third. If you both
love each other, you have to put each other in a
situation wherein your success above all is your
main goal. If you find this kind of partner:
supportive and understanding and goal-keeper,
he is the one for keeps!
Use Social Media in moderation
In this generation of facebook, twitter,
instagram and snapchat, the need to be
updated becomes like a basic need. Social
Media is a great medium for information
dissemination and knowing the whats-up-withthe-world-mommah, but please be a
responsible adult. Do not bully! Do not show
hate (except permissible hate that needs to be
publicized for proper action by agencies), do not
let your private life be so exposed that you
dont have any more room for your privacy.
Dont post trashy ones. Be a class of your own
including your posts. Dont spend too much
time on social media, be productive with your
schedule. Give 10 20 mins a day for your
updates, beyond that is too much!

STUDY HARD, PLAY HARDER,

PRAY HARDEST.
Your parents sent you to school to learn, to
study really hard and prepare you to your
future. Along with your academic formation,
you should also develop a social presence. I tell
you, those who play harder have the healthiest
lifestyle and less stressful life disposition. I
mean, your lifestyle should be a combo of
everything so you have a meaningful college
life, right?
Above all, Divine guidance should always be
your greatest weapon. You should believe in the
power of prayers and how it can move
mountains. A life lived in the ways of God is a
life filled with purpose. Go out, pray, serve your
community, play a good sport, look for a better
cause and make the most out of your college
life.
At this point, you prolly have your strategy on
how to survive these wonderful years of your
life. Seize every moment. Along the way, youll
make mistakes but thats part of it. Be not
afraid of it! Make the experience worth
experiencing and learn from it! After all, its just
another phase of your life that one day will be a
memory. So make it sweet and colourful.

Enjoy!

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You may email us at
sittieaguam@gmail.com
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www.jydigital.impactinstrument.com
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www.sittieyas.com
WATCH OUT FOR OUR NEXT HOW-TO!
-J&Yassie