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So far through college, I’ve found the best experiences come when I focus on things that interest me. Despite being a computer science major, my two favorite classes I’ve taken at the university have been three classes on agriculture and the food supply chain that I took to fulfill gen ed requirements. Rather than trying to take as many courses as possible that were related to my primary interest and major of computer science. And because of that, my academic interests have expanded to include agricultural science and economics. While some might argue that this is a waste of time and effort over taking gen eds that might have helped me to improve skills directly related to my major, I’d argue that diversifying one’s understanding of the world is necessary to understand where you’d like to be in it. Thinking through agriculture’s more nuanced role in society and the technological innovations occurring within the field to ensure its ongoing success has for me, in a roundabout sort of way, helped to crystallize an understanding of my desire to do meaningful technical work that can have practical benefits for people, rather than my previously less focused ambition of simply wanting to create new and spectacular things. Even if my “diverse” course experiences might not advance my goals directly, they’re fun and valuable in their own right. And you know, offer some break from working on the same material all day long, so that’s nice too.

And leaning into personal interests helps not just in making course selection more fun and diverse, but also helps with building relationships with your peers and faculty who share your same interests. For me, just asking honest questions of my professors and TAs has led to some interesting conversations and discussions, not even necessarily related directly to the content we’re trying to learn in class. While asking questions necessary to understand things and pass tests is certainly important, being willing to extrapolate from that and ask truly interesting questions can create a more meaningful and interesting learning experience between students and instructors. Even if you’re not really friends with your professors, two people discussing things they find interesting is valuable experience in its own right. By that same token, being open with peers is a great way to form connections. Maybe in class, but realistically more likely in clubs, where conversation isn’t a distraction, just genuinely talking to people about things you find interesting, whether it be a serious subject or just a video game, makes for easy connections and lets you find people you’ll really get along with.

Personally, while I do think that having connections on campus is important, one of my main focuses while at college has been keeping connected with my friends and family from back home. I spend a good deal of time talking with old friends online, and make sure to call my family at least once a week. Its small things really, but they keep college feeling friendly and familiar, and their connections with me are honestly more important for me than those I form in college (even if I probably shouldn’t say that). Moving on in life doesn’t have to mean leaving people behind, and that’s been a great comfort for me this first year of college.

From my point of view, college is best when you try and make it what you want. Rather than trying to match some “best” path, focusing on what truly interests you, and prioritizing the things you care about is the best way to keep yourself happy, motivated, and on track through college and life.