Our Senior Wisdoms keep on coming. Today’s wisdom is brought you by Juicy Juice Jared.

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Jared, Columbia College, History (proudly) and Political Science (grudgingly), Plantation, Florida (it’s not what it sounds like!)

Claim to fame: University Senator, one-time class of 2015 president, WTF Columbia founder, Eva Longoria for President campaign manager, and Malina Welman’s second grandson

Where are you going? To the pool to take my swim test. Then, somewhere in the world of New York progressive politics.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2019?

1. Give people a second chance at a first impression. Some of my best friends at Columbia now are people I wrote off in my first few weeks here. Reserve your judgments about other people or at least be open to revising them. People arrive on campus with a wide variety of expectations and insecurities, and it takes time (sometimes even three years!) for people to get comfortable in their own skin and show off their true selves. Don’t let people’s personas during their first semester at Columbia define your view of them for the rest of your time here. I certainly wouldn’t want people judging current me based on freshman me. You should also feel free to re-evaluate your relationships with people if they’re taking a toll on you. You may have forged an immediate connection with someone in your first few weeks here, but not every early friendship is a perfect fit. Don’t feel obligated to maintain connections that are unhealthy or unfounded in real care for one other. Focus on finding the people at Columbia that make you happy, and drinks lots of beer with them.

2. Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. This is Columbia, not Yale. The silver platter you were expecting was probably sold off a few years back to finance some part of Manhattanville. But that’s a good thing! The University has a wealth of resources, but no one is going to tell you what they are or where to find them. If you do things right, Columbia is going to train you how to get what you want in the real world, and it’s up to you whether you sink or swim. You have to ask questions. You have to keep an eye out for opportunities in your areas of interest. You have to push back when people tell you no. You have to find workarounds when they really mean no. If you start early enough and try hard enough, the classes are there, the connections are there, and the funding is there. Don’t be afraid to take what is yours!

3. Find something here that you can’t have or do anywhere else. There are going to be some times that Columbia is going to let you down, and you might have some doubts about what you’re doing here. In these moments, it’s really helpful to have an attachment to something that you wouldn’t have access to anywhere else in the world. For some people, this takes the form of a job downtown for their favorite company based only in New York. For others, it’s their special interest community on campus. Whatever it is, finding something that grounds you at Columbia or in the city can help you weather the storm when your slump hits.

“Back in my day…” The Freshman 15 was built on a diet of Shamrock Shakes and Reese’s Pieces in your JJ’s ice cream. It was also the name of a first-year CCSC party.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer Anderson Cooper winked at me at Obama’s second inaugural ball.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? I can’t choose between the three courses I took with Eric Foner, the faculty member who most transformed the way I think about both the past and the present. The Radical Tradition in America introduced me to an American left I hardly knew before arriving on campus and to Nick Juravich, one of the two best TAs at Columbia. Civil War and Reconstruction transformed the way I understand racism in America and connected me to Lindsey Dayton, the other best TA at Columbia. This semester, I’ve been lucky to take part in Foner’s Columbia University and Slavery seminar, his final seminar at Columbia, working alongside a fantastic group of peers to examine Columbia’s troubled history related to slavery and racism. For the Class of 2019, the last time you will ever get to experience Foner in the classroom will be in his Radical Tradition class next year, SO TAKE IT. For those interested, Columbia partnered with edX to preserve his final Civil War and Reconstruction course online for posterity. Foner’s eventual replacement, Stephanie McCurry (arriving from Penn in the fall), is also an incredible historian, so go soak up some of her brilliance before you graduate!

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? Let’s do a worst-case scenario comparison: blue cheese > blue balls.

One thing to do before graduating: Sneak into a gala in Low. Put on your best attire, and act like you are supposed to be there. If you have any problems at the door, take the security entrance and walk around to the northwest stairs up to the second (main) floor. Enter the Faculty Room, where you will likely find an open bar at the cocktail reception. There are usually at least three bartenders, so you can get a few drinks in rather quickly without generating suspicion. It’s the ultimate pregame on the University’s dime, and it certainly beats waiting in line for a few beers at Lerner Pub (bitter that I never got a mug).

Any regrets? I ended up in student government largely by accident. I don’t think I regret it, but I’ve certainly questioned my involvement so early in my time at Columbia. I spent a lot of time representing other people’s interests and was glad to do it, but I think incoming students should spend more time exploring their options before jumping right into a leadership role with a great deal of commitment. There were so many groups – Roosevelt, Democrats, Student-Worker Solidarity, Fight for $15, etc. – that I wish I had the time to really explore. I made it to as many meetings as I could, but I regret never being a full participant in those communities.

I regret not taking African Dance II. I regret spending a summer dependent on the C train. I regret not calling home enough. I regret reading the comments. I regret ever going to Suite. I regret not discovering the Teachers College library (treadmill desks, empty group study rooms, a nap room, a ping pong table, and the cutest guys on campus) until my last month here. I regret most but not all of the trips to Tom’s. I regret all the time worrying if there were things I would regret. You’ve been afforded an incredible four-year window of opportunity – spend it doing, not dwelling.