As members of the senior class prepare to embark on a new stage in their lives in college, academic sufficiency is not the only factor that defines a student’s college experience. Learning to develop good personal self-sufficiency skills, that is, growing equipped to take care of one self, is important in the college growth process. These abilities include, but are not limited to, doing laundry, managing money and time, cooking, organizing and cleaning.

            Becoming self sufficient is a key element that one must work on before leaving home for college because, essentially, you will be all on your own. The level of responsibility that a freshman college student bears increases drastically when compared to that of a high school student. One’s parents will not be there to tell them to do laundry, to clean their room, or dispense money at their discretion. Therefore, one must learn to discipline themselves in a way that allows for them to accomplish all their tasks in a timely manner.

During the first few weeks of college, freshman college students often immediately become aware of the shift in their responsibilities.

“You definitely have to grow up. The biggest challenge is mastering the art of self discipline. Taking care of yourself academically, socially, and personally are things you need to learn to be successful in college simultaneously. It’s scary at first but it pays off in the end, so you are less stressed,” said Notre Dame alumna and current Grinnell College student Dakota Maxwell-Jones.

Not every student will move out of their parents’ home and into a college dorm straight out of high school. Some individuals choose to live at home after high school graduation, though they do, in fact, work equally hard toward becoming less dependent on their parents.

“Since I’m not allowed to move out, I still feel like I need to grow as an independent person to prepare myself for when I actually do more out in the future. If I just sit back and continue to be dependent [on my parents], I will never learn my responsibilities and become an adult,” said senior Roya Vahedi.

One’s strive for independence after high school graduation is not limited to those individuals that move into college dormitories, as exemplified by Vahedi. Responsibility and self sufficiency is a practice that each young man or woman must learn as they embark in adulthood, regardless of one’s mailing address.

Developing one ’s self sufficiency skills will undoubtedly benefit them, not only in college, but also in their lives post-college graduation. The knowledge and experience that one will gain in college is highly valuable and quite irreplaceable.

            “College really makes you realize how independent you really have to be. Life is all about learning lessons, and in college, you experience [a number of] these lessons,” said Notre Dame alumnus and current Northern Arizona University student Connor Fimpler.