DOES YOUR COLLEGE FRESHMAN KNOW THE EPIC LIFESTYLE TRANSITION THAT’S ABOUT TO HIT?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 17, 2008 -- HARTLAND, Wis. -- When freshmen descend upon college and university campuses this summer, chances are good that their orientation programs will be filled with maps of the institution, contact information for department heads, extracurricular activities schedules and parameters for maintaining passing grades.

The most important lesson missing from the agenda, however, may be a practical outline about how to adjust to a lifestyle that for many, includes learning how to live away from home for the first time. The scenario has been repeated all too often: kids get to college and they either party themselves to an early exit from school, or they spend so much time studying that they fail to grow socially. This leads to stress and often, mental and physical illness.
In the workplace, experts refer to work versus play, “work-life blending” or “work-life flexibility”. When it comes to adjusting to new surroundings and responsibilities, it pays for colleges and universities to meet these challenges in similar ways.

According to personal and professional coach, David Bohl (www.slowdownfast.com), college freshmen should be able to comfortably live according their own values and beliefs as they face two, four or more years of course study. If they are honest with themselves about their goals and objectives, gut-wrenching performance mindsets, binge drinking and uncomfortable peer expectations could become things of the past.
A father of two college students, Bohl offers tips to students, parents and faculty to ease the freshmen transition and strike stress from their lives:
1. Avoid information overload and “news fatigue”. Schedule time and/or days of the week to check news that you deem important. Set a time limit of one hour and do not exceed it.
2. Strike a balance between online networking and interpersonal interaction, realizing that both have important roles.
3. Think big when you identify responsibilities as a student and social being. DO NOT rationalize what ails you.

4. Embrace responsibility, yet prize your achievements.
5. The sooner you identify who you are and where you want to go, the sooner you'll get there.

“Sometimes it takes experiences to realize what’s best for us, but college students already have enough pressure on their shoulders without thinking too far into the future,” said Bohl, a 1982 graduate of the University of South Florida (www.usf.edu) who learned that the stress of academics and professional status climbing do not necessarily lead to a happier life in the long run. “I think we’re better parents if when kids make the high school-to-college transition we don’t hover, but give them the tools to live honestly, happily and at peace with themselves.”

David Bohl is a life, professional and personal development coach who is the author of “The Happiness Trilogy” and other growth-inspired essays.
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