Hi Logosians!! I'm so glad to be writing to you all. I feel very old, having had graduated back in 2016. As I'm writing this, I'm already in my third year of university. Time really flies. I digress. Let's get straight down to the point.

My name is Neath. For those of you who wants a little context, yes, I am Teka's sister. I currently study chemical engineering at McGill University up here in the great north (so cold, please help). Here's a hint: "McGill, eh?" When I am free and not crying over fluid mechanics, I enjoy doing photography (film) and running (away from my problems).
As an engineer-in-training and an okay writer (arguably terrible at times), I wanted this article to be as concise, simple, engaging as possible. So here comes a list of things I wish I knew before choosing (and coming to) university.

Before University

1. Logos is a small school, so if you choose a big university like McGill, you will have to go through quite a bit of a transition, and that is okay!

McGill hosts about 40 000 students per year! This means you will be in 200 crowd size lecture halls, and be forced to learn materials by yourself. There, of course, are tutoring services available, but a lot of the work will be your own responsibilities! You also will have to really put effort to "break out of your shell" and make friends. People usually know other people from the same area, so go out there and befriend all the international students first, then work through the locals. Trust me! For all you the computer scientists reading, this technique is the well-known "divide and conquer."

2. When you're scouting out universities, and attending college fairs, go with a CV!

Best advice I had read in my high school years. If you sell yourself well enough at these fairs you can even 1) get admission fees waived 2) get partial scholarship offers on spot! Also, dress to impress.

3. Choose to study what you love? Yes, do try, but don't be too hard on yourself.

!!! Spoiler Alert !!! No one in university (at least in their first year) really really knows what he/she wants to do. I mean it. This is completely normal, after all, first years are just teens. What you should do is narrow it down to at least: Arts, Science, Law, Medicine, Engineering. Use your first year to explore courses, and decide on what you like. If, for instance, you get through Physics 101 and think "Man, electromagnetism really isn't for me. I'd rather read Shakespeare's," that is okay and completely normal. With time, you will find what you really love, and when you do, you hold onto it for dear life.

4. Bye, mom, I'll see you in about a year.

Hard phrase to say then, hard phrase to say now. I miss my mom everyday, I must admit. I am not going to tell you it will be easy leaving your family, but what I found helped me was reminding myself everyday that I was leaving for a good purpose. I also told myself, again and again, that no matter where I was, I would just be hours of a plane flight away (not too bad). I try to logically think about how connected the world is now, that I can just call her when I need to! With that said, while you're still home, give your mom hugs every day and tell her you love her, because time really flies and you will miss her bay cha (បាយឆា), ok.

At University

5. Everyone has their own ways of transitioning, and different transition times.

Transitions are weird, and uncomfortable. Uncomfortable means changes, and in case of going to university, it's good changes. When you transition, allow yourself time to cry, and pray. It is okay to grieve, but when you grieve, know that someone up there loves you and is looking after you. The transition will also test your faith. However, as you wait for the phase to end (or ease up), remember, always, to have hope in things not yet seen. When you realize this, all you have to do then is to let go, and let God.

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6. Not all the people you meet in your first year are going to stay in your life, and that is okay.

I don't think you're surprised by this. I guess I just had to say it, since during first year, I assumed this myself. It is, however, not true at all. Some people are just not worth keeping around, for several reasons (for you to find out). This is not to say you will hate them, but you just have to let them go, acknowledging that sometimes you have to lose to gain.

But some from your first year stay... And you know they will stay for good. 

7. In high school, "to study" means something different than in university.

Let me try to explain.
In Logos, we have alternating schedules: A B A B A. The pace is also different. I used to always catch up with work after every day. This is a bit impossible in university, just because the course load for each class is not the same anymore. Therefore, instead of studying for all classes and trying to stay ahead in all the classes (which will just exhaust you), I study for the classes that are more "urgent." I keep a list called "highest-value activities," and I record all my upcoming projects, labs, assignments and tests there. Whichever one is due first, I focus all my energy on it (without bothering trying to catch up with any other class). I find this technique allows me to dive in deeper to my assignments, do it really well, and move on to the next one, rather than trying to do all three at all. Then again, this is personal preference. You do you.

8. University is not a race, it's a good ol' jog.

For my fellow runners out there (shout out to logos running club), this is probably very easy to understand. When you run a marathon, you don't just look to the finish line and sprint -- you pace! Pacing (in anything in life in general) is so important, I can't stress this enough.

9. When you think you can't endure the run anymore... Yes you can!

You are capable of doing whatever you're trying to do, and always, always, remember that at the end of the day, all that matters is this:

Psalm 23:6

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

At this point, I realize I can't give all my advice in one article, so I'm going to stop at #9, just to bug all of you perfectionists out there. Hahaha, no perfect 10 for you today. All jokes aside, university might seem like a black box at the moment, but believe me, things are going to fall into its places. Here's how I know:

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime, if you ever want to ask about colleges, scholarships, or just want to vent over the admission process (I know, ughh). I can be contacted at nguon.ponhneath@gmail.com. With that said, all the best to you!