As the second semester ends, we are just a year closer to graduation, and one year further into the college experience. The end of the semester is a great time to reflect upon the past few months and what we’ve learned. I know my first year of college has provided me with many a lesson.

So, below are four quotes that define the things I’ve learned and experienced in my first year of college!

Table of Contents

1. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

– Charles R. Swindoll

Life is all about how we react to the challenges that come our way. When we were younger, we had our parents controlling many aspects of our lives, but in college it’s different: We control our own life trajectories. This is a powerful thing to understand.

In college, if something in your life isn’t going the way you want it to, it’s important to realize that you usually have the power to change it. If it’s something you absolutely cannot change, you also have the power to stop letting it adversely affect your mental state. Either way, the control is in your hands.

For me, I’ve been unsatisfied with how networking has gone for me in college, and I’m taking steps to improve my skills in that area. As we all know, networking is key to finding internships and even future employers, especially if you don’t know many people in your major/field. So it’s something I’ve learned to take more seriously this year!