By Robert Gadol, Student at CLE Austin

Robert and David - 2010 CLEIn 2010 I graduated from high school and moved to Austin, Texas where I started College Living Experience. I didn’t know what to expect when I got there, it was scary and challenging, but only because I made it that way. At the time, I thought I knew everything about life and I didn’t need to learn anything, boy was I wrong. As a result, I did not listen to others’ advice and I wasted a lot of time instead of making good use of the program and the CLE staff.

When you first start living on your own you will face many situations that are unknown, especially when you have never faced them before. The main problems I experienced were lack of sleep, not taking my medication consistently, not listening to advice and, relationship problems. If I could go back now I would give my self a major reality check.

The first problem I faced was lack of sleep. I would stay up for hours past mid-night and as a result I would get upset and paranoid. I spent a lot of time engaging in activities to keep me busy late at night, rather than setting up a good sleep pattern. This caused me to miss classes and scheduled sessions and ultimately fail some classes. I also thought I didn’t need to take my medications consistently, so I took them late or not at all and this caused me a lot of emotional and friendship-problems at the time.

I experienced a lot of peer relationship issues when I first came to CLE. My roommate had a lot of friends and I felt left out, so I spent a lot of money buying things for peers to try to impress them, thinking they would be my friends. I also told lies about myself or exaggerated my experiences to make friends. It turns out that they were not true friends. Rather than make friends, I ended up with a lot of ruined peer relationships. I also prioritized my social time over my academics and my academic results suffered.

Robert and David - CLE 2015I have learned over time that I do not know everything and the CLE staff are here to help me. Since I have been following their advice and putting it into practice, things have turned around. I recently completed my degree in Web and Interactive Design and made the Dean’s list. I have some great friendships that have lasted for over 3 years. I now have a good, balanced and healthy lifestyle and I am much happier these days.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self I would say the following:

  • You don’t need to pay your way to friendships.
  • Be your true self and people will like you.
  • Be a responsible adult and take your medication.
  • Not sleeping doesn’t help. Get your rest, you need it.
  • You are not always right, so take advice from other people.