How To Survive College At An Ivy League School While Staying True To Your Values
College is full of tumultuous transformations – new places, friends, ideas, roommates, relationships, and more. Yet, at a time when everything in your life is changing, how can you preserve your closely-held values, given the pressure to abandon everything just to fit in?
My college years at Columbia University were spent figuring out how to do just that – finding the right balance between being open-minded to new experiences and backing away from activities and beliefs that were contrary to what I was comfortable with. I know that going against what’s popular and socially mainstream in college is hard, and there may be times you feel like giving in. That’s ok. Just know that there are always options available to you if you choose to back away from what’s popular on campus – underage drinking, hookup culture, illegal drug use, increasingly progressive political beliefs – and that it’s still very possible to graduate with close friendships, stellar grades, successful romantic relationships, and a bright future ahead.