Aside from getting a really good all-around education and much-improved job prospects, I learned a few really important things in college. For example: 
- I learned how to read poetry. (I had a great professor who taught me this, and it’s enriched my whole life.)
- I learned the basics of ballroom dancing.
- I learned that storing tomatoes and bananas near each other makes both ripen more quickly. True. Try it. (Or try separating them if they’re already as ripe as you want them.)
But one of the most important things I learned — especially for me, a journalism major — was an important tip to tighten up my writing. Here it is, free of charge, saving you the cost of four years at a Big 10 university: Get rid of the extraneous warmup text at the beginning. Continue reading