As a college student I know you’ve heard of the expression “giving it the good old college try.” There’s a bad connotation involved with the phrase nowadays because of people doing dumb stuff in the name of it.
Thanks to a variety of things, from negative perceptions of college students through movies and the media, people think the phrase is used to encourage bad and, at times, illegal behavior. That’s simply not the case.
Encouraging someone to give it a try comes off as peer pressure. It is our job as college students to promote a positive and meaningful culture within our ranks. Don’t use the phrase of “giving it the good old college try” to promote negativity.
When we say the phrase, we’re meaning we want you or whoever we are asking to give something a try that’s not going to hurt or damage you. As college students we should use the time we have here to really find ourselves and explore. Try out new and meaningful experiences.
I’ve seen it countless times and I’m sure many of you have. You meet a person early in their undergraduate career and they’re either shy or not as outgoing as the rest of the group but by their senior year they’ve become unrecognizable. What happened you may ask? Maybe they went out of their comfort zone and tried to make friends or went through a life changing experience. Whatever it was it all started with them giving something a try the good old college try.
Continue encouraging one another to try new and exciting things but don’t encourage bad or illegal behavior. Peer pressure can also be good. It just depends what you’re trying to accomplish. Trying drugs is not a part of the college try and neither is anything else that is illegal. Being in college is not an excuse for you to ruin your life.
If you’re ever asked to give something a try in the name of college think about what you’re doing. Is it harmful? Could this negatively effect me or others? Will this embarrass me? If you’re answering yes to a majority of those things don’t do it.
Look for things that make you feel good, you can be proud of and make you a better person. Try a dance class, working out or even something as harmless as kayaking. In the end it’s all about having positive experiences while in college.