Advice to my cousin Scooter who is soon beginning college:

1) Take as many risks as you can (without getting killed) – This doesn't necessarily mean doing a line of coke off of a stripper's bare ass :) but it does mean putting yourself out there - join one more clubs and/or get involved with a club sport, go to a party or event you might not have though twice about in high school, TALK and INTERACT with people from different backgrounds or people who may not have been "your type" in the past – honestly, it’s amazing what you can learn from a complete stranger and you'll never know until you make that first step and engage them in conversation. Just put yourself out there - of course you won't hit it off with EVERYBODY - some people truly aren't your type - but it's a lesson in learning to accept and deal with all different kinds of people and, at the very least, for all the freaks you meet you'll have a great story!

2) Roomates --I know you already know your roommate – that’s great – now GO OUT with him and socialize as a pair until you develop a core group of friends. If he’s in the same boast as you and doesn’t really know many people, then it works even better. You guys can act as a team instead of you goin at it solo walking awkwardly down the hall introducing yourself to random people. I think Kathy’s pizza idea is great – nothing brings people together like free junk food.**Also, you might find you live really well with a roomate but don't socialize with the same people, don't have the same "scene," and rarely see one another outside of the room. Whereas this might be discouraging at first, it's really OK - and probably better - I lived with my best friend for two years in college and although we had some great times in the room, we did spend a lot of time bickering like an old married ccouple.

3) Enjoy the experience and don’t take the serious stuff TOO seriously --Study, got to class, and get your shit done (blah, blah, blah) but don’t forget to have fun – and A LOT of fun, at that. You’ll want to look back and say, “Man, what a great four years of COLLEGE,” and not “Man, what a boring four years of classes.” If you go out one night, get hammered, and miss a class the next morning – WHO CARES – it’s all part of the experience, yes? Again, as long as you learn to prioritize your schedule, there should be plenty of time for you to have a fuckin’ blast. Take the opportunity to travel – whether it’s studying abroad or visiting your cousin(s) in New York :) - you’ll have time, time, and more time in college – so much more than you had before – so make the most of it. When you start working, you may find you have very little time.

4) Dont forget the people who made you who you are today/your roots--This sounds like the title to a cheesy SClub7 song, but it’s very true – although your closest friends from high school are off to their own colleges and surely making new friends, drop the ones who matter most to you a line every now and then – in this age of mass telecommunications, there’s no excuse NOT to communicate. It can be as informal as a wall post on someone’s birthday or a text now and then - sometimes the littlest things carry the most weight. Furthermore, continue to cultivate those relationships you cherish most from high school, and look to do the same with the people you meet in college.

5) Be who you are and don't do anything you don’t wanna do --College is a time where everyone is, more or less, in the same boat – you’re all coming from different backgrounds; everyone had different upbringings and life experiences up to this point. It’s a little different than Cleveland (don’t get me wrong, there’s diversity in good ol’ C-town, but we all kinda grew up in similar communities) This is great about college though because all that high school bullshit (i.e. Chase calling you up and threatening you) melts away and cliques are literally non-existent. No one cares who you hang out with or what you do – peer pressure fades away because people JUST CHILL and have a good time. In high school, everything seemed to be a competition (at least for me) and therefore everyone tried to act all badass an outdo everyone else. Also in high school, we were more or less defined and judged by “who we hung out with,” in college, YOU can be who you really are and/or begin to “come into your own” and thus ultimately learn more about yourself. I smoked pot for the first time sophomore year because I was curious – not because my friends pressured me into doing it.

6) Collect business cards/contact info along the way--This one goes back to #1 – never be afraid to initiate conversation with a classmate, a professor, or anyone – you never know who might end up being an employer, a mentor, or just a lifelong friend; to that effect, you also never know when you might need someone’s help, guidance, and/or expertise. Collect any information you can on the people you come across (and I don’t mean spying on them through their bedroom window with binoculars or wire-tapping them) but rather get a person’snumber, contact information, business card, or simply make “mental notes” on them that you can use when the time is right.

7) You don’t always have to make out with beauty queens--Fat/ugly girls need love, too! If one of them approaches you drunkenly and tries to make out, I say DO IT - again, nobody cares, because, at very least, in college you can chalk EVERYTHING up to being drunk (i.e., “Aw man, I was SO wasted last night…I barely remember…”) I say a kiss, even if it a drunken, sloppy mess, is still a kiss – if I had a nickel for everyone I ever made out with (more drunk than sober, I’m sure) I wouldn’t need to work. Also, don't spend all your time tryin to get poon and don't focus all your energies on trying to get it - live in the moment, enjoy where you are, and all the rest will fall into place. I spent a lot of time - looking back, probably too much time - on being discouraged cuz I didn't get with that one "really hot girl" I was chasing; meanwhile, the world was happening around me but I was missing out because I was pouting about whatsherface.