Chapter 1

Chapter 1: “The Longest Summer of My Life”

June 2012-July 2012

 

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever make it to college, not because I don’t believe in myself, but because the wait seems unbearable. Since graduation it seems as if time has stood still. My days just seem to be longer than normal, is this Mother Nature speaking to me? This summer has been by far the longest of my life.

My mother gave me advice a week after graduation that really helped me through this summer. She told me, “Relax this summer, really Austin. RELAX!  You have received a generous amount of money through graduation gifts and you don’t need to be spending your last summer home working.” That advice was pretty easy to follow since I was my own boss and really didn’t have to quit a job. My jobs consisted of detailing cars for my very own business, “Austin’s Amazin’ Car Wash,” and I also own two vending machines that are located in two businesses in my community. I only have a few weeks left until move in day and the “relaxing” has really paid off. If you sit back and think about your life it has consisted of 12 straight years of school and summer vacation. It is time to relax because you are about to be thrown into the real world where people who relax get left behind. So I am giving you permission to relax just this one summer.

While you’re sitting by the pool or the ocean have a nice read.  I was a very successful high school student, but I have always hated to read. So my number one goal this summer was to learn to like it. I knew that the inevitable was coming so I better start reading now. I guarantee the college or university your attending has a summer reading program and that is a great head start for your college career. I hope this book will one day be on a summer reading program, but if not, thanks for reading! The book I had to read was “The Shallows” by Nichols Carr. The book explained how the internet and technology is forever changing our lives. The book really opened my eyes to how I use technology. It is also a good idea to read books that relate to your anticipated career field. Since I already told you that I own my own businesses, it made it easy for me to read books about entrepreneurship. However, I know some people have no idea on what field they would like to enter, so it is always good to pick a book on success. For example, Go Big, a book written by the creators of Dude Perfect, encourages its readers to “Go Big” in anything they pursue. That means to have a go getter attitude and if you really want to do something, don’t just think about it, act on it. The book is such an inspiring story about a couple of Texas A&M college students who Go Big! If I had the chance to redo high school I would have defiantly started reading more. I now know reading expands your knowledge in ways that can’t be touched by any sort of technology.

By reading books that explain how to become successful it is impossible to follow every step the books give you. However, one thing I have learned from the books I have read is that if you have goals, you should write them down. By writing goals down, you remind yourself everyday what your goal is. When outside influences get in the way ones goal can be shattered. So one day I set out to write my goals down, but I didn’t just want the goals to appear on a small piece of paper. I wanted a poster that could be written on and checked off when my goals were accomplished. After an hour or two of typing and brainstorming, my goals and I headed to Staples. I know the guy working the copying station knew I was crazy, but I had my goals and nothing was going to stop me. All of my goals, laminated and crisp are hanging on my wall, just waiting to be checked off. Write down your goals, if they truly are your goals, you are the only person who is stopping them from happening.

How awesome would it have been if you could have seen a video of your parents when they were your age? Well maybe you have a video, but I sure don’t and I wish I did. So I decided to make a video of myself as a graduated high school student. In the video I spoke of my dreams, my goals, and my current life as it is. I videoed my house, my room and the car that I drove in hope that one day I could look back on it and show my kids how life used to be. I also did this to make sure I keep my goals and dreams intact. If you don’t on a video camera, write a letter to yourself, take pictures of your house, do something that will capture your memories.

One of the important parts of this summer has been buying all of the supplies that I will need for dorm life. Yes, I am a boy, but everybody needs supplies.  I will be the first to tell you that this is not a one day adventure; this is an adventure for the entire summer. When I began shopping for the necessities I didn’t realize how much stuff I would actually need. I had to buy everything from Band-Aids to underwear. My mother believes that you should buy everything you think you will need and then some. I have piled my dorm room supplies in a spare bedroom in my house and wonder sometimes if all of this will ever fit in my dorm room, and my mother has reassured me that we will make it fit. So the moral of the story is, buy stuff you think you won’t need because you probably will need it.

The most important part of the first year college experience is meeting up with your roommate. I am one of the brave souls that has chosen to do the random roommate track. I was able to find him on Carolina’s Roommate Finder website. This website is a great tool to finding upcoming freshman that share the same interests as you. After a month of searching I found my roommate and was able to build a strong relationship with him over Facebook, but it wasn’t until the summer we had time to catch up and meet in person. I believe this is the most important part of the whole process because you will be spending at least one year of your life with this person. By getting to know them before the actual experience you are able to build a friendship that could last a lifetime. I have hung out with my roommate on multiple occasions and I have a great feeling about it. However, I am pretty sure you will hear some stories about him in the near future.

When upcoming college students think of college orientation they usually think of a ton of boring meetings. Well I am here to tell you that there are a ton of meetings, but what you do with the meetings is up to you. If you think back to around ninth grade chances are you had to go through the same process. First, you had to learn the expectations of your high school with all of the rules and regulations. Then, you had to learn how to sign up for classes which at the time probably seemed very confusing. While you sat through the meetings I am betting you thought about taking a nap or began to count the ceiling tiles.  I know the meetings may seem as a blur, but they did occur. So with that in mind enjoy every minute, of everything, of your college experience because college will go by even faster. After hearing all of the rumors about orientation, it was finally my time to go. I was still in shock that I was about to be attending college, but was bursting with excitement as soon as I hit the campus. Since my parents were not attending the grand event with me I was all on my own, which I believe benefited me more. Trust me; it is much more enjoyable if you are alone. By being alone you are able to meet loads of new people. The best orientation advice is to branch out because all of the other students are in the same boat you are. Yes, you are nervous, but so is everyone else. It was a necessity that I meet people at orientation because there were only two other kids from my high school attending UNC and I was not very close with those two individuals.  While at orientation the staff introduced clubs, which I believe, is a must-do while in college. It doesn’t matter if you would like to join one or ten, go for it because clubs and organizations are a great way to get involved. It is not a bad idea to make a list of all of the clubs you are interested in, so you don’t forget them in the fall when you start school. The most stressful time at orientation for most students is registration. However, I was able to keep my cool and didn’t worry too much if I didn’t get a class I wanted.  One of the girls I met at orientation was so freaked out that she didn’t get any of the classes she wanted. It was really a site to see.  Be cool and relax because if you can’t take it your first semester I am sure the university or college will be happy to take your money another semester. I would also suggest that you take a class that sounds interesting; you never know what kind of spark a class can give you. I signed up for Introduction to Africa, not because I want to major in African Studies, but because I figured it would be very interesting and I knew most of the athletes took those classes, so it couldn’t be too hard.

The hardest part about going to college is saying your good-byes. This summer has been full of anticipation and excitement, but what I didn’t realize was that I have to leave people behind. My family and friends are not going with me; they are going their different ways as I am. Firstly, I would advise if you have a girlfriend or boyfriend and they are not going off to college or are attending a different school, you should really explore your options. College has a lot to offer and with that comes a lot of people that you will come in contact with. I decided to end my relationship with my girlfriend because I will be moving almost three hours away and I decided it would be in our best interest to end the relationship. Also, if your girlfriend/boyfriend is still I high school you need to realize that they may worry about you too much and they won’t get the most out of their high school experience. However, I believe that true love exists, and if it is meant to be, it is meant to be, but I want to experience college without holding onto something back home. I know that this may seem hard and everyone doesn’t live the life that I live, but this is how I will be going about things. If you’re not in a relationship, let me just tell you that you are in luck. I would imagine that it would’ve been a much easier transition to college without having to deal with the break-up.  The next phase should be telling good-bye to your friends from high school. Like I said before there are only two other kids from my high school going to UNC-Chapel Hill. I am leaving friends that I have lived, fought, and cried with for 12 straight years. So reach out to your closest friends and let them know how much they mean to you. I decided to go out to eat with a couple of my buddies to have one last good time before our whole lives will change. I don’t think I realize it yet, but my life is going to be transformed into something that I can’t imagine. By being a part of a loving family, I knew that telling them good-bye would be very tough. My advice would be to go and see all of your family members that mean something to you. For me, I had two grandmothers that mean the world to me, so I had to go see them and tell them I loved them. They both told me, “To be a good boy, and to call home.” I think that is something that I will have to do when the home sick stage hits. My aunts, uncles, and cousins also gave me their wishes this past week. Then, it was time to tell my mother, father, and sister that I loved them. My mom is having a tough time, but my dad is ready for me to leave, or so he says. Let them know that you’re going to do fine and that you’ll be home every once and a blue moon. Well, I don’t know about that one, just say you’ll always be able to talk on the phone. I know many of you can’t wait to get out of your parents’ house, but you’re going to miss your family and the house that you’ve grown up in. When I left out today I took one last look around the house to make sure I didn’t leave anything, and to remember the memories that my house gave me. As my parents and I drive down I-40, all I can think of is that I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. This is my time to become a man, to become the person that I will forever be. Heading to the hill, this ride has just begun!