Chicken Soup for the College Soul: Inspiring and Humorous Stories About College (Chicken Soup for the Soul Series)

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Summary: Didn't Finish
Review: I'm only on page 76 and I'm bored. I thought this book was going to be full of stories from college students but I'm seeing essay from parent after parent after parent (even though the one about hugging was very cute!) I'm disappointed and I'm glad I didn't pay much for it, because I'm selling it right now.

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Summary: Open Your Heart to a Book
Review: Just like the little red cans filled with Campbell’s soup the stories in Chicken Soup for the College Soul are m’m m’m good! This collaboration of stories from numerous individuals helps the reader relate to real life college experiences. Each one of the stories is personalized and easy to comprehend. Four different authors, Jack Canfield, Mark Hanson, Kimberly Kirberger, and Dan Clark put the book together. The authors offer their own experiences as well as the experiences of others. The reader is able to reenact the experiences through day-to-day life. The book touches on different topics each one having significance in college life.
Coming into college is a big change. The reality seems to hit you when you find yourself eighteen, three hundred miles away from home, and legally an adult. Chicken Soup for the College Soul was given to me as a graduation present my senior year in high school. I had read some of the other chicken soup books and was hoping this one would live up to my expectations. I was right, it met my expectations and gave me more encouragement than I expected.
One of my favorite categories in the book is Love 101. Being a freshman three hours away from home it is easy to find yourself heartbroken and lonely. The story, Finding My Way, by Zan Gaudioso filled my heart with warmth the first time I read it. This particular story is about a young girl starting college without a friend in the world. Desperately needing an attachment to someone she clamps on to one of her professors. The relationship that started with a schoolgirl crush moves on to a friendship with the professor, his family, and his special little girl, Lily. Lily had cystic fibrosis and needed individual care. As the college student baby-sat Lily for her professor a unique friendship developed. Lily gave the girl direction. Because of the involvement with Lily the student realized what career moves she wanted to pursue. The student received a bachelor’s degree in special education. Just as Lily showed the young girl direction this story along with many more set my heart in the right direction.
After reading some of these stories an overwhelming feeling of kindness came over me. I felt as though I wanted to help people and the readings made me believe that even though I am just a student I can make a difference. One of the sections in Chicken Soup for the College Soul, Acts of Kindness, made me realize that the world isn’t so cold and empty. People really do care. The story, Our Community, by Christa F. Sandelier revealed to me the compassion that lives within all of us. The story pertains to nine-college students home, which gets destroyed in a fire. Left with nothing it seemed a hopeless situation, but the other college students of the community had hope for the victims. They worked tirelessly passing out flyers, taking donations, and putting together fundraisers. All the earnings were given to the fire victims. In college it’s sometimes easy to feel as though no one cares. This story proved me wrong.
The book is beautifully put together, starting with getting in college and ending the college transition with graduation. In the beginning of every new section there is quotes pertaining to the subject and experiences. As a college student and a writer these quotes give me strength and motivation. I live by these quotes now and find myself reading them again and again during troubled times. Saint Francis DeSalas said, “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” This quote is one of my personal favorites that I found while reading this book. Different people ranging from Hollywood’s, Jodie Foster, regular college students, college professors, and administrators wrote these quotes and stories. Intending to touch all the readers, students, and graduates the stories will clothe you heart with experiences of gentleness, death, humanity, and even classroom life.
Not only is this book valuable to the college students, parents can find this book to be very helpful in understanding the issues their son or daughter will be faced with in their college years. The stories prepare students for life on and off campus. These heart filled stories can be extended from college years to the workforce. Learning in college is not always focused on books and classes alone. Some of the most important lessons learned in these developmental years are learned through experiences outside of the classroom. Chicken Soup for the College Soul helped me get a head start on learning and becoming who I am. I can’t say that about many other books.
The writers of the stories have their own styles. Even though the writing style changes from story to story the realization and vivid illustrations given to the reader made me feel as though I had experienced the same thing as the writer. The stories are easy to relate to and I found myself comparing my own college experiences to the stories. In more than one case I felt just as the writer. As I read Finding My Way, by Zan Gaudioso I thought back to the very first day I arrived at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I had stood in the registration line feeling small and lost just as the young girl had felt in Gaudioso’s story. College seems like such a large and scary word when you’re just entering. Chicken Soup for the College Soul seems to break the word, college, down into smaller subjects and help explain the importance of each part of campus life.
I found the collection of stories to be more useful to me during my first semester of college than any counseling services or other readings. The stories seem to be as genuine as having a conversation with an old time friend about past experiences. I recommend this book to any individual whether they’re just graduating from high school or graduate school. It is always good to read and remember real experiences. Grayson Kirk once said, “The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others.” This unique quote was published in Chicken Soup for the College Soul and sums up the meaning of the book for college students trying to discover their place in the world.

Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs up!!
Review: This book is great for anyone going off to college or anyone in college. As author of The ABC's of College Life, a hip, street-smart guide dishing out the inside scoop on college life, I highly recommend this Chicken Soup book!

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Summary: Must read for College Students
Review: This book was so good. I enjoyed reading stories from other college students that had gone through some of the very same things I went through. I was so inspiring that I gave it to my friend to read and she loved it. Now if I can only get that book back from her. I have recently purchase 5 other books of the Teenage Series. High recomend College and HIgh Schoolers read these books. They are real stories and you wouldn't believe how much you can relate to them.