Yusef Love Paris Black interview on college habits and campus life

In the Yusef Love Paris Black interview on the SmackBiz podcast, Love told Black that choosing friends and managing time have been his biggest challenges at Pennsylvania State University. He urged high school students to build good habits before college, discussed his economics studies and campus clubs, and described plans to attend his first Capital College Student Government gathering.

What did Yusef Love say about college life at Pennsylvania State University?

Yusef Love studies economics at Pennsylvania State University and takes part in finance club and student government. He told Paris Black that keeping busy helps him feel productive, while his involvement in student government also gives him meetings to fit around the rest of his college schedule.

Love listed his course of study and campus activities when Black asked him to introduce himself. Economics is his academic focus, and he named finance club and student government among the groups he has joined. He described those commitments as a way to keep himself occupied and continue doing what he considers good for himself.

On the day of the conversation, Love had meetings for student government. He described the day as productive without being too busy. That balance matters to him: later, when discussing upcoming commitments, he said he tries not to make his schedule too packed.

His account of campus life was not limited to classes and clubs. When Black asked about college challenges, Love turned first to the people around him, then to the practical difficulty of managing his time. Both, he said, required more attention than he had fully understood before arriving at college.

What did Yusef Love say about choosing friends and managing time in college?

Yusef Love identified his social life and time management as the two biggest challenges he has noticed in college. He said students should pay close attention to whom they spend time with, and that learning to organize his own schedule took a while because falling behind or missing things was a real concern.

Choosing the people around him

Love had been told before college that his social circle mattered, but he said the advice felt different once he was living through it. His approach is sometimes to observe people from a distance before deciding whether he wants to spend time with them. For him, choosing friends is a decision to make deliberately rather than automatically.

Learning to manage his time

Time management was his other major adjustment. Love said it took him a while to understand how to manage his time correctly so he would not fall behind or miss certain things. He presented it as a skill he has had to develop, not one that appeared as soon as college began.

The two challenges shape different parts of his day: one concerns the company he keeps, and the other concerns how he meets his commitments. Love said they were the biggest issues he had noticed and paid attention to so far.

How does Yusef Love advise high school students to prepare for college?

Yusef Love advises high school students to start building the habits they want before they arrive at college. He said putting off changes such as overcoming procrastination is unlikely to make those changes easier, and he encouraged students to act on their plans for the future rather than only write them down.

Building habits before the transition

Love warned against assuming that a change of setting will automatically change a person's behavior. A student who wants to stop procrastinating or being lazy, he said, should begin working on it now rather than expect to become more disciplined upon reaching college. Explaining why an early start matters, Love put his advice plainly:

You really have to build that into your personality sooner than later.

His point followed from his own adjustment to college. After describing the work of choosing friends and managing time, he urged future students to establish the habits they want to rely on before they need them in a new setting.

Turning future plans into action

Love also distinguished planning from doing. Writing down goals and thinking about the future are not enough, he said; students should begin taking steps toward what they want. He acknowledged that young people have time, but argued that this is no reason to delay preparing for what comes next.

His advice did not depend on a particular major or career path. Whatever a student wants to pursue, Love's recommendation was to begin now. Starting sooner, he said, puts a person further along than waiting for college to provide a fresh start.

Why does Yusef Love consider education important?

Yusef Love considers education a necessity and believes it can affect a person's future opportunities. He emphasized that education matters even while someone is still in high school, rather than only after they reach college, and connected learning now with how well prepared a student may be later.

When Black asked him directly about education, Love did not point to a specific class or qualification. Instead, he stressed its broader importance, saying, "It will really take you far, education." He also said he found that importance difficult to put fully into words.

His answer extended the advice he had just given high school students. Building habits and acting on plans were steps he wanted them to take early; he likewise saw their current education as something worth taking seriously before college begins.

What did Yusef Love say about Capital College Student Government?

Yusef Love planned to attend a Capital College Student Government gathering later that day. He described it as a chance for students involved in government at different colleges to come together and talk. It would be his first time attending, so he did not claim to know exactly how it would go.

Love brought up the gathering when Black gave him a chance to mention upcoming events. He called it one of the important things on his schedule and explained that student governments from multiple colleges would be involved. Because it was new to him, he spoke about what he expected rather than describing a previous experience there.

He did not identify another upcoming event. Love said he tries not to make his schedule too compact, a preference consistent with the attention he gives to managing his time during college. The gathering was his immediate student government commitment.