Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Misery & Bliss
- Becoming…well…not miserable!
- Finding and Following Your Bliss
- Our Mantra: ‘Know Thyself. Have a Plan. Assume No One Else Cares.’
(Parents in Parentheses)
- Roles & Responsibilities
- “Thank Me at Thanksgiving”
How to use this book Please Return This Book to its Proper Owner
- Looking forward
- A Caveat Before You Carpe
- Just one guy’s thoughts
Carpe College!
- An Idea (with some assumptions)
- More Bliss
Beginning at the Beginning
- The Sad State of ‘Schooling’
- A Hard Dose of High School Reality
- Pavlov & Passivity
- Reclaiming Your Inner ‘Toddler Terror’
Wow, That Was Harsh!
Swinging From the Trapeze at the County Club
- Mall vs. Country Club
- Trapeze vs. Safety Net
Learnin’ vs. and Livin’
Learnin’ and Livin’: An Intro
- It’s About Both
- Active & Intentional
- Ah… The Mantra!!
Learning: The Academic Part (aka ‘The Game’)
- Complicating Matters
- Game Strategy
Know Thyself
- ‘Who am I? Where am I going? Why? How?’
- Hanging with High School Success
- What’s Your Function?!
- What Happens When the Institution Can’t Bend?
- Have You Been Lying to Yourself?
- Grow Thyself
Have a Plan
- The ‘June Question’
- The Famous Formula (aka Smells Like Teen Freedom)
- What’s your ‘EMO’?
- A Light Sunday Night?
- The First-Year Testing Ground
- Free Your Mind & the Rest Will Follow
- Your Prefrontal Cortex Walks Into a Bar
Assume No One Else Cares
- Being Nice & The Frisbee Guy
- Master This!
- The Pebble in the Pond (Guess What? You’re the Pebble.)
- Some ‘Ripple’ Considerations
- A Potential Problem: Team Projects
- Assuming No One Cares Even Though They Do
How Do I Look? (aka Keeping Up with the Joneses on the Yellow Brick Road)
- Looking Left and Right
- Insidious Comparisons
- Dorothy and the Dudes
- That Still Small Voice Within
Living: The Non-Academic Part (aka ‘The Game of Life’)
- Gurus: Twain, Thoreau & Campbell
- Book Learnin’
- Livin’ Deep
- Findin’ Your Bliss
“I’m Thinking College, But He’s Talking About Career?!”
- The Job of Getting a Job
- Bring In Da Funk!
- Meet Interesting People (Peers & Profs)
- Do Interesting Stuff (‘Bulletin Board Bingo’)
- One Final Interesting Note About Becoming More Interesting
Keep Your Eyes on the Career Prize
- The Carpe Career Plan
- The List
- The Letter
- The Leap
Explore Galore! (aka Try Anything)
- Exploration & Discovery
- No Pain. No Gain.
- Screw Ups: Academic, Social & Cultural
- F3: Fix It. Forgive Yourself. Forge Ahead.
- Be Careful With Contempt
- A Crazy Conclusion
EBB & FLOW (aka TURNING INWARD & OUTWARD…LIKE YOUR BELLY-BUTTON!)
Finessing Your Freedom
- The Ties That REALLY Bind in Your High School Spring
- The Great Experiment
- The Gift: One Day of You
- ‘Try Easier’
Do No Harm (aka Let’s Play Doctor)
- You Make the Call
- Nothing Good Happens After Midnight
- Disney Wisdom
Week 1 Wisdom (Stuff that often doesn’t make the list)
- Reinventing Yourself
- Feet First
Doorstops & Chopsticks
- Everyone in the Same Boat
- Open or Closed
- Rocky Mountain Oysters and Yo-Yo’s
Don’t Hate the Mate
- Boomers, Millennials, and Rooms of Our Own
- Sharing Space & The Situation
- Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
- Breaking Bread
- Truthfully Tackling the Tough Stuff
- Recruiting Your RA
- You Are Not Henry Higgins
- Summon the Safety Net
- Finishing Strong
- Roommate Royalty?
- Treating Special Cases Specially
Quick Tips for Roommate Survival
- Avoid Alarm Annoyances
- T-Shirt Trivia
- Stock Up on Supplies
- No Sweat?
- Cleanliness is Next to Godliness?
- Don’t Touch it or Borrow It Without Asking!
- Stay Gold, Ponyboy
- This is Water
Five-Alarm Mac-n-Cheese (aka Just Add Water & Don’t Be the Perp)
- Swearing Twain Could Be Proud Of
- Fake Bake Too
Party Like a Smarty (aka Don’t Make the News!)
- In Vino Veritas
- Know Your Limits
- Sober Soldiers
- Your Pour
- Go Blue
- Don’t Go It Alone
- By the Numbers
The Longest Title for the Shortest Chapter
- Don’t
Waddya Mean, Don’t?!
- Motive and Opportunity
- Reach Out
Your Sex Options (aka Your Parents’ Favorite Chapter)
- Keeping It Simple?
- I Want Your Sex
- When It’s No Longer Sex
Clamoring for Community
- Lofty Ideals
- You Decide
- Dad and Jill
Laundry Lessons (HINT: It’s not really about laundry!)
- Another Formula
- Some Plans
- Some Options
- No Answers
Teenage Wasteland (They’re All Wasted!)
- Time Wasters (Social Media, YouTube, Gaming and the rest)
- Embrace ‘em
- Contracts & Clocks
- Some Strategy
- Acknowledge What Everyone Already Knows
- Single Tasking
- A Senior Moment
Homesick My Ass! (aka Don’t Be Such A Wuss!)
- Gird Your Loins
- The First Month
- Homecoming
- Technology & Weaning: Shedding & Skyping the Parents
- The Family & Friends Hour
- Who’s In Control?
- Controlling Collisions
- Write a Letter
The Great Depression (aka Down in the Dumps)
- Safe Somethings
- A Walk
Fonts of Wisdom
- History Meets the Homesick Blues
- Wisdom Comes From Far & Wide
Mouth Bacteria Make You Fart
- B.S., Brilliant or Both?
- Trust But Verify
If You’re Cocky and You Know It, Clap Your Hands
- Humility vs. Hubris
- Winter Break Breakthroughs
- Some More Sneaky Surprises
- Course registration (again)
- Housing for year two (already)
Advocate & Act
- Keep Your Goals Front & Center
- Speak Up
- Help Them Help You
- Net Results
Mind & Body: The Dynamic Duo
- Exercise Regularly
- Eat Well
- Get Serious About Sleep
- Lose the Laptop
- Review & Revisit
Look, I Can See Your Breadth!
- The Terrain
- Stealing Strategy From Scouting (Be Prepared)
Thinking Inside the Box
- A Place for Everything
- Being Present
Tempus Fugit (More Latin?! You’re Killing Me, Smalls!)
- High School Happened. Embrace the Pace.
- A Broader Plan
- A Very Unique Gift
- Oh Yeah. Don’t Forget the Mantra
- Sorry. One More Thing.
APPENDICES
- Appendix A: The June Question (and a few more)
- Appendix B: ‘Don’t Hate the Mate’ Share Sheet
- Appendix C: Weekly Planners
- Appendix D: Checking In Charts
- Appendix E: The Homestretch
- Appendix F: Bolstering Your Breaks: Thinking Big
- Appendix G: A Note to Struggling Students Whose First Year Goes Poorly
- Appendix H: Commuter (And Community College) Care Package
- Appendix I: Student Athletes
- Appendix J: FREE Advice From Former First-Years
- Appendix K: ‘Look It Up’ Resources
- Appendix L: A Very Potter Guide to College Stuff