When I left home for college, I had a reputation for being "smart in school, dumb in real life." That was probably charitable. I really earned that reputation--the dumb part at least--when I got there.

I wear contacts. When I packed my bag for college, I only took one pair with me. A few weeks into the spring semester, one of them tore. So for the next few months, I did the only logical thing. I walked around with a contact in my right eye and nothing in my left eye.

Was it incredibly irritating to be able to see out of one eye and not the other? Yes. Was it annoying to have an asymmetrical need to blink? More than you'd imagine. I know this story sound made up, but, unfortunately, it is true. The obvious question, of course, is why? That's simple. I didn't ask anyone for help.

Maybe this experience was good for me. Instead of getting help, I solved the problem (sort of) for myself. If I'd had someone step in and solve my problem for me, I wouldn't have learned a valuable life lesson. The lesson I learned is this: Ask someone for help. 

This advice--that help is helpful--may not sound like rocket science. On the other hand, if I was me at age 18, I would ignore it. So much help is available to college students and so much of it goes unused. I know because office hours are so chronically underutilized everywhere. But it's more than that. Many colleges and universities offer all sorts of support for students who are struggling, whether it's academically or personally. This type of help is underused too.