College flew by. 

There are many things I wish the younger, zealous freshman-year me would have known. 

1. Develop a consistent spiritual life. 

College is an unstable time, filled with new challenges and struggles. The cross is the constant amidst these turbulent waters, so cultivate a vibrant spiritual life. For me, that looks like attending daily Mass and praying for at least 30 minutes. Just make sure to pray every day. 

It’s important. 

But there is a lot more to college than just prayer. And your grandma already probably told you to pray, so I’ll try to be original. 

2. Don’t date first semester. 

Now, dating is great, and you should do it, especially if you are discerning marriage. 

But you have plenty of time to do that later. 

At the beginning of college, the opposite sex often proves to be a mere distraction when you should be working to cultivate lifelong friendship. 

A friend told me that you should first find your groomsmen. God will provide the bride later. 

I have a solid network of dudes that I can lean on during tough times, turn to when I need a pal to talk about life, or drag along when I just want to do something fun. 

3. Make some fraternal memories and build lasting friendships. 

Once that is in place, by all means, start flirting.

Just give yourself time to find the guys that you can turn to when those romantic aspirations fall apart. 

4. Fall in love … with learning.

In the AI, digital age where an endless bank of knowledge is at your fingertips, many students forget the joy of learning. Some treat college courses as a mere waystation to achieving a lucrative career. 

Don’t forget that learning can be fun. 

For two years, I was trapped in that mindset, taking courses to fulfill requirements, writing papers for the grade. 

Then, at the beginning of junior year, I was reading one of the Church Fathers and became enthralled by his writing. 

“This stuff is interesting,” I thought. Quickly, I became a lot more invested in my classes and fell in love with reading these great thinkers and good-naturedly arguing with friends about intellectual topics. 

Learning, somehow, became a joy. I remember telling a friend, “I have been doing this school thing for 14 years and I just now get it. I wish I would have tried to enjoy it a lot earlier.” 

5. Learn the names of the campus coffee-shop baristas.

College is the one time in life you live in close proximity to your friends. And guess what? People are more interesting than somebody’s social-media post or playing video games with friends. Don’t waste this opportunity!

Meet everybody you can and be open to new additions to your friend group over your collegiate years. 

Become the campus coffee-shop “barfly.” Be there so often that the baristas know your name and everybody knows you. 

Doing so, you will have many interesting conversations, gather a plethora of memories, and find your people. 

Oh, and if the baristas know your name, sometimes they will give you free coffee. That’s always a good thing. 

6. Watch cooking videos. 

College dining does not have the best reputation. 

But if you learn to cook, you can have great food whenever you want. 

There are more benefits to cultivating your culinary skills. 

Everybody loves the chef. Cooking allows you to invite people to come together to share a meal and build community. 

I have had many great conversations and evenings chatting while my friends and I cook dinner together, potluck-style. 

We will spend two hours cooking, another one eating, and then will talk late into the evening, snacking on the remnants. 

Another benefit: Women love a guy who knows how to cook and vice versa. 

7. Learn to live. 

Life does not happen on a screen, on social media or via a video game. 

Life happens in the dorm lobbies, in the classroom, and walking through campus. 

Life happens when you talk with another person. 

One comes to be fully alive through knowing Christ. 

Who knew Christ the best? His apostles. 

And man, were those guys living. And they did so in community. 

Come to know Jesus through prayer and through finding good friends that you can talk about Jesus with and learn to live fully with. 

Yes, some days will stink. You will be home sick, you will fail a test or paper, your girlfriend might dump you, or your friends may leave you. 

But you have 1,460 days total of being a college student, and those bumps are just a necessary part to living this epic journey. 

As St. John Paul II said, “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.” 

Fall in love with Christ, find some good friends and embrace the adventure.