Safety Tips for College Bound Young Women: Keeping Yourself Safe in a New Environment

Getting ready to head off to college can be one of the most exciting times in your life. You will be faced with challenges and situations that will be completely new to you. You may end up making some mistakes. Many can be made into learning experiences. But when it comes to your personal safety many mistakes are avoidable and should be avoided at all costs. Here are a few tips to help make your college life a little safer.

Avoid walking alone. If you can walk somewhere with someone, do it. A person walking alone makes for an easy target for rapists and muggers. When you have a person to walk with that you trust it will cut down on being marked as easy prey for criminals.

Know your surroundings. Most colleges have phones that will dial campus security. Know where they are at all times. You never know when you may need one. Always stay alert and be prepared.

Don't be too trusting. You will be meeting a large amount of strangers in a short amount of time. It's nice to make a friend or two your first day, but beware of being too trusting. Remember that great friendships are built on trust over time.

Enroll in a self defense class. Knowing the basics in self defense will allow you to protect yourself in many situations. It may also allow you to get enough of an edge on an attacker to get away and get to somewhere safe.

Don't get carried away with alcohol. There is a large amount of drinking on most college campuses. The more you drink, the less common sense you have. The less common sense you have, the more likely you are to do something that you will regret. It is also important to mention never drinking from any drink that has been left unattended. Many date rapes occur with the use of debilitating drugs dropped in a person's drink, leaving the victim unable to defend herself. Obviously your best bet is to refrain from drinking alcohol altogether, at least until you are of a legal age. But if you're going to drink, do it in moderation and know your limits. Drinking even a little bit will leave you with less control over any given situation.

Protect yourself. Walk with your keys in your hand or something else that can be used as a weapon. Pepper spray can be bought to put on your key chain so it is more accessible in a situation where time is critical. Please know that different states have different laws regarding the use of pepper spray. Make sure you know what is legal in your state. Whatever you decide to use, make sure you have it in your hand. If you are victimized for whatever reason, your attacker will not wait on you while you get your best defense ready.

Unfortunately, college is not a crime-free community. All those rules that your parents set down while you were living at home were for a reason. Many were to keep you safe. So now that you don't have your parents there to monitor your every move, will you be up to the challenge yourself?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray#Legality