Take a lesson from ‘the boy who lived’

People always say when you come to college that it’s now time to take control of your life. You are no longer under your parents’ control and it’s finally time for you to make your own mistakes, to grow, to love, to learn.
College does offer those opportunities, but you have to actually act in order to take control of your life. You have to be willing to make mistakes, willing to grow, willing to love, willing to be hurt, and willing to learn. You have to be tough. If you aren’t you are going to be pushed around by various people in the world.
Sadly in this world there are people who aren’t necessarily good people. There are people out there who will intentionally cause you harm. But that doesn’t mean you have to be brought down with those people.
In the “Harry Potter” series, the well-known villain is Lord Voldemort, but the most hated character is Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge was a person in authority and she abused the power she had. She punished the students simply because they tried to speak up and question her. And she’d have gotten away with it, except that the students didn’t give up.
The students in “Harry Potter” weren’t scared to question authority. They weren’t scared to question those who had more power than them. They weren’t scared to question those who were older and “wiser” than them.
Those students set an example for us. The students take matters into their own hands and they fight for their rights. They fight for what they believe in.
As students, we have more power than we know. We might be young and “naïve,” as older generations will often claim, but we also have more tools available to us than many of those in the older generations.
It is easier to live life in the shadows of those who came before us, but life is better when you are in control of your own choices. While it is not acceptable to disregard the advice of your elders, it is acceptable to listen to the advice they have to offer and make educated decisions. Those decisions may include listening to their advice, or taking a different path.
One option is not better than the other, but you have to be prepared to deal with the negative or positive repercussions that result from the path you choose.
College is your opportunity to prepare for the real world, and although that is the truth, people often think that college is some kind of practice for the real world when in reality, the real world is right here, right now.
Now is the time to take control. Now is the time to question. Now is the time to learn and grow. Now and every day. Don’t be scared because the people around you have more power, have more experience, or are older than you. Start standing up for yourself.