Suppose I were a freshman again

Old people usually give wise advice to young people. One pastime we all fall into from time to time is wishful dreaming: if we could live our youth over again, we would live it differently and better. Almost all of us regret the past, the missed opportunities, the lost years, even though we are barely middle-aged ourselves. Can avoid all faults in the imagination, but also can give people a sense of holiness. No, it's doubtful that many of us would be able to avoid the mistakes of the past, or the mistakes we've always made, if given a second chance. But even if it is little comfort to us to assume that we should try again when we get the chance, it would do young people no harm to hear these words. As long as this foresight is as correct as that foresight!

If I were a freshman again, I would never work so many hours again. I spent a lot of time on books in the past, but with little success. I tend to lose concentration. Many of my classmates -- and I, too -- tend to take too long to prepare for work. They had the book in hand, but their minds were running away, either looking out the window at the clouds or at the girls in the street, and they thought they were working hard.

Many nights, homework is heavy, and I want to start early, to finish it; But just sorting books and getting a comfortable seat can melt away for half an hour. And I thought I was already at work. As a result, the time it took me to make up my mind (to take on a responsibility I had been trying to avoid) and get ready was equal to the time I spent actually working. If I were a freshman again, I would have to work and plan and concentrate -- work harder and harder, but not for too long.

I must learn to work well with those around me. In fact, my past life was somewhat isolated. My reading and learning were often done alone. This method has some advantages, but not without serious disadvantages. The working environment I live in now is different from the one I used to live in when I was a college student. There is often a lot of work to be done in a lack of quiet places, so it is difficult to work. For example, as I now tried to write down my many floating thoughts on this very crowded deck, I was disturbed by the confusion around me, especially by the intermittent chatter of a kind but unsensible young man at my side. If I had learned to work in a different environment, I would have been able to drive these sounds away, just as a roof keeps out rain. I think it is useful for a young man to do his work well by himself, but he should not be completely trapped by it.

If it were possible for me to do my work all over again, then as a freshman in college, I must do a little more work that I have no particular interest in or find difficult. I am not immune to idleness, nor do I want to give the impression that a student is wrong for choosing his favorite profession or doing what he loves to do. In fact, I have always believed that he should choose those jobs in which his personal interests can lead him forward. I also believe that we do best what we do most easily. But I also found that ability comes from struggle; Those who are most fully developed are those who are most able to resist difficulties, to fight against them and overcome them. I myself have met many talented people who went on to achieve extremely mediocre results, mainly because they never learned to do hard or unpleasant work.

Some of the students who come to my office every day ask to be relieved of their jobs, some ask to be excused from classes, some ask to cut practice classes, simply because they feel that a particular task is too difficult, or that a particular teacher or subject is uninteresting. In fact, there is often a lot of unpleasant work in life. Much of the work I myself was forced to do during the busiest hours of the year at school fell into this category of unpleasant or unenjoyable work. Whether I love it or not, I can't help but force myself to pay great attention to these things. I wish I had learned to do more of this kind of work in my freshman year. Just yesterday, at the breakfast table, I was talking to a first-year student whom I was interested in about next year's classes. I mentioned a certain subject, which I thought would be of great benefit to him. "Is it an easy lesson?" He asked the question at once, and when he heard my answer was no, his interest waned. In the real world we all have to work in sooner or later, shortcuts are scarce. We are always forced to do a lot of headaches. If I had been a freshman again, I would have learned early enough to handle such matters.

Like many others, I don't think I'm doing what I planned to do when I was in college. I don't believe in destiny, but I can't help feeling that there are quite a few cases where people choose to do what they want to do, not because they like it, but because circumstances make them do it. Had it occurred to me that I might be expected to speak in many wholly unforeseen circumstances and on wholly unfamiliar subjects, I should have trained myself in this field when I was at school, for I am convinced that it is the practice of all who wish to acquire the power of expromptness. I realize that every sensible man must sooner or later express his thoughts in public; but however abundant they may be, they will still be painful and ineffective to him, unless he has made regular and sustained efforts in the past.

Last spring I ran into an old classmate, now a well-known engineering expert, whom I hadn't seen since graduation. I asked him, "If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?" I said it expecting him to say that he would do a little more of his beloved mathematics.

But his answer was, "I'm going to practice writing, I'm going to learn to speak, and I'm going to start all over again like a freshman. But I used to shy away from opportunities to write or speak, mistakenly thinking that they were the province of ministers and lawyers, and I have since been haunted by them every day. My son is going to be an engineer, and I'll make sure he doesn't repeat my mistakes."

And now, when I sometimes get up to speak without preparation, and my knees quiver, and my words falter, and the words don't come at all, or come with too much difficulty, I feel more and more sure that my classmate's words are true, and more and more convinced that if I were a freshman again, I should learn to speak with accuracy and without notes.

I also hoped that, as a freshman again, I would be able to play a sport or two. It's not that I have or will ever get much pleasure out of it. In fact, when I do, I do, and that's a lot. Once a man has achieved something in his career, which we all wish to do, he is faced with a great deal of work, and he must find some diversion. It's not fun for me to lift weights that bounce back, bounce back and hit the sandbag again, or lift and drop and drop and lift again. I'd rather hoe weeds in the garden, saw wood, or pat the carpet off the cool clothesline in the backyard. Besides, I have no great interest in any of the devices, "systems," etc., devised by intelligent people, which are supposed to keep people working at their best. If I must take pleasure in sport, I shall do it not only from the point of duty; The sport must have some kind of physical competition so that there are concrete results to be achieved, clear goals to follow and strong opponents to deal with. I would rather play a serious game of tennis than lay a finger on all the gymnastic apparatus in our Christian country. There is nothing, I think, that keeps a man in youth and health, and ADAPTS him best to the struggles of everyday life, than a healthy body, and nothing produces that more than competition.

It is, of course, possible for a person to study physical education later in his or her college years and even after college; But not only will it cost more, your body will not be as agile as it used to be, and you will not be able to exercise because of all the chores. Therefore, if a person does not learn a certain athletic skill in his freshman year, he may find it harder to learn later.

If I were a freshman again, I would do well in at least one aspect of my work. Looking back today, all I cared about was being able to "tell the past." I am confident that I am not quite so unambitious in my studies as the next young man, who told me not long ago that sixty points would suffice for him, rather than a perfect score. But at least I didn't do my best in one aspect of the course. The truth is that almost every college student, including first-year students, has a perfunctory problem with their studies. Either too much time is wasted doing homework, or the homework is not completed on time, so that when it is done, it is sloppy. Nine out of ten college freshmen are behind on their homework. I have even heard it said that it is a good thing to miss your lessons, because otherwise, why should one not do more? Brilliant, perhaps, but what was thrown out in such a hurry would have been so rough and superficial that it would have been almost impossible to hide. Of course, I also believe that there are some jobs, as long as they are generally not bad, that is all. But on at least one subject I should always take some time to think it over and try my best to do it well. It is indeed difficult for a man to be precise in his later life; In this way, at least for a period of time to do a job conscientiously, so that in the future, it will always be a kind of comfort.

I must make more effort to get to know my teachers better than before. The average first-year student has teachers in his head who are just odd fellows, sometimes very knowledgeable, but who have little understanding and little sympathy for each student. Some teachers do; I had one of those teachers in first grade. I realized then that the less trouble I had with these teachers, the better, and that if by any chance they were to go out of town due to illness or business, it would be a very good thing and would be greatly appreciated. But I have come to realize that my old teachers, including those who at first seemed unapproachable, were extremely lovely people, not only knowledgeable, but also generous and helpful. This diaphragm is caused mainly by the self. To this day, I think that the greatest pleasure and achievement of my college years was that I got to know at least one teacher, and that this taught me more than almost any other kind of learning. If I had gotten to know the men and women I worked with better, I would have learned so much more.

If I were a freshman again, I would make sure to listen to famous speakers every chance I got, because they were bound to come to college towns for some reason. I was often short of money, and there was a good reason why I did not go to lectures, or to music, or to the theatre. But now I regret that this opportunity will never come again. I had always wanted to hear Henry Walder Bichel speak, but when he did come, I balked at the high price of admission until another time. But it never came again, and Bichel died shortly thereafter. It was one of the great regrets of my college life to lose the opportunity to hear such a great man speak.

Whenever I used to speak to incoming students, I would emphasize that the first priority of the first year was to study -- the rest seemed beside the point; However, if I were a freshman in college, I would definitely pay attention to taking part in more student activities. I also think that for first-year students, the part of socializing that involves younger women is better put off for a few years. The emotional stuff can wait. Of course learning should be the main thing, but it should not be unique. It is not a good thing for a first-year student if he has not taken up any interest other than attending classes. A person who only knows how to read books often does not achieve as much in society as some active students in the future. The outstanding student who gives the valedictorian at graduation does not always rise to the top in his career. This is mainly because their interests are too narrow, and they are too ignorant of the world. If I were a freshman, I would definitely take up at least one hobby in addition to my normal studies -- to give me a break from my daily hustle and to keep in touch with others.

Just what this hobby should be depends, of course, on the individual situation of each first-year student. It can be sports, as he is good at; It could be religion, oratory, politics, etc.; But either way, I am sure a man will learn a great deal from it, if it enables him to understand not only things, but people.

To live in a university for four years is a wonderful experience and a wonderful opportunity, but I shall never have it again in my life. I have done more than one wrong and missed more than one chance; But in any case, I still think that I have gained more than I have lost, so even if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would probably still lack the brain to do it better than I have done it before, so I would just have to leave it as it is.