Bad habits freshmen learn while being away from home

So you're away from home and away from the rules of your parents now and you're thinking "No rules, let's have all the college fun!". Well you're absolutely wrong, and those thoughts are a sign of immaturity and lacks the foresightedness needed to graduate. Don't worry though you will learn. The following bad habits are often formed as a young adult living away from home and can have lasting effects. Decisions made as a college student will impact the rest of your life. You're parents were smarter than you thought, so listen wisely because they tried to raise you properly!
#1. Tobacco
Why not? You're 18 (here in the USA) and can purchase cigarettes if you want. This is an addictive and harmful habit to begin. Without having to worry about parents catching a smell of your clothing, students often feel smoking is a harmless way to relax or take the edge off, when in actuality, tobacco, or nicotine specifically, is addictive and carcinogenic. Many smokers say they started smoking in college when their parents weren't looking over their shoulder. Creating an addictive habit like this can make going home difficult because there are only two choices: tell your parents you use tobacco or try and cover it up/ stop using. By telling them you are using tobacco you run the risk of them not supporting you with spending money or if they are really strict you could lose your freedom. By trying to stop cold turkey when you visit home you will be irritable and not your normal self around your loved ones.
#2. Drinking Alcohol
Of course, who doesn't have a beer or two at a party in college? Students would be surprised that a lot of college students don't participate in using alcohol especially if they are under the legal age (21 in the U.S.). The majority of college students do try a beer, so know your limits and realize the decisions you make under the influence could be embarrassing, illegal, or inappropriate. Normal rational thinking goes out the window when alcohol is in the mix and emotions can run wild. Deciding to drive after even one beer as a student will get you a driving under the influence charge. Greeks who use peer pressure to get their frat or sorority pledges to binge drink are not true friends. Drinking also leaves remaining after effects such as liver damage and hangovers. Waking up early or trying to study and learn new material while hungover is frustrating and more problematic than it needs to be.
#3. Sleeping too much (or too little!)
Don't become lazy as a student! Mom is not there to wake you up every morning for school so make sure you have a reliable alarm clock. Make sure you earn your sleep! Nothing is more valuable than time especially as a student. Sleeping in all Saturday and not being productive is a bad habit and will lead to unemployment, lack of social life, and ultimately depression. Look in to exercising more. Believe it or not, getting your heart rate up relieves stress and will give you more energy throughout the day, while at the same time helping you fall asleep at night. Sleeping too much will cause bad study habits and your grades will reflect your constant snoozing. Waking up for early classes can be difficult, so avoid partying into the late hours of night.
On the flip-side of sleeping too much, there is the problem of not sleeping enough. A sign of sleep deprivation is also a sign of poor time management. There is no bed time or curfew in college so you can stay out as late as you want, however, your brain will not function at its potential and this will harm your educational advancement. There was a student who once went 4 straight days with no sleep and stayed up on caffeine. By the third day she was unproductive and couldn't focus. We tried to convince her to get some sleep or see a doctor in case she had insomnia. By the fourth day she fell asleep at 11am and didn't wake up until 3am. This was a huge problem for her sleep schedule as normal people don't sleep and wake at those hours. She said it took an entire week for her to get her sleep cycle back on track. Don't be dumb and stay up all night, because you're body won't be working at its full potential.
#4. Eating Proper Meals
Having a homecooked meal every night kept you healthier than you previously thought- and it probably tasted better than the school's cafeteria. Now, without a structured set of authoritarians watching your diet you are free to eat all the donuts and pastries you want. However, this can lead to diabetes and obesity which are leading causes of illness and death in the U.S.A. It is important for parents to help raise their children with respect for a proper diet and healthy lifestyle. This is because the habits they formed as kids are going to carry with them throughout adulthood. A college schedule is also hard to eat three balanced meals at the same time everyday. Make sure to avoid sugars and limit caffeine usage.

By avoiding these four habits: smoking, drinking, sleeping, and eating; the young man or woman will be ready to live a mature, healthy, and responsible life. It is important to hang around a good group of friends. A students' peers are shown to have an incredible impact on their thoughts and decisions, including whether or not to partake in the aforementioned four habits.
College is a time of learning life lessons and deciding for yourself what will be done with your gifts and talents. However, immature decisions can lead to life altering consequences. Now that you are an adult you don't have to follow your parents rules, however, you will have to reap the consequences of ignoring how you were raised because you will now be seen as an adult.