Author: Christmas Lights

College is a roller coaster of experiences. When I came into college, I had no idea what to expect. I was told by many high school teachers that college professors don’t care about if you are successful or not and how hard college is. From my experience so far, I have learned that college is what you make of it. If you put forth effort and show up to class, you will succeed. The professors do want to see you succeed and care about how you are doing. They are here to help you and they want to help you. If you don’t show up to class and don’t do your assignments, then your college experience might be harder than other people’s experience. College is what you make of it. There might be some hard times but that is to be expected with anything you do in life. If you work hard, use your resources, and lean on people that you love, college is going to be so much fun.

Some things to look forward to when coming to college are that you will make amazing friends, learn about a field you have a passion for, and get incredible opportunities you may not have had in high school. When coming into college, everyone has their own opinions and advice on how to help you, but with time, you will experience everything you need to and gain your own opinion on how to get through college. One thing that has helped me adapt to so many different things is just staying organized. You need to prioritize things that you enjoy doing, schoolwork, and making time for your mental and physical health. An example of this is I have learned that everyday I need to make time to go to the gym at least just to walk on the track for a little bit while listening to a podcast or some music. Trying to manage so many things at one time can get overwhelming, so I find it important to get some physical activity in my day and walking also helps my mental health. Finding things that make you happy but also help you mentally or physically is important because once you come back to your schoolwork, you will feel reenergized and more focused.

Making the transition from living at home to living in a dorm is a big transition. When I lived at home, I never had to share a room with my sister, so I have never experienced having a roommate. Honestly, I thought living in a dorm would have been a lot harder. I feel like I adapted quickly to this big change. The only thing I don’t like about having a roommate is that I don’t have a lot of alone time. For instance, my roommate is in the room most of the day which is hard for me because I like my alone time. I like going to bed and turning the lights out early and she likes to stay up later. I also like to watch movies and shows on the television, but my roommate likes to study in the room. Picking someone on social media to be your roommate is difficult because although my roommate and I met up multiple times before choosing to be roommates, you don’t know them until you live with them for a little while.

Having a roommate and living on my own has taught me valuable skills. Having to do my laundry, pick up groceries, find time to study, and get physical activity in throughout my day has been stressful at times. These tasks are just a small portion of what I will have to do when I have my own space. At a young age, you are told some of the things you will have to do when you are older such as pay bills and clean. I have learned quickly that the area gets dirty with two people living in a small space. One of the things that has helped me stay organized is keeping a list. I make a list of things I need to pick up at the store and I have a schedule of when I do my laundry and clean. As I have gotten older, I learned it is not fun to clean but it definitely feels good once it’s done and you have a clean space to live. I am very happy they make freshman live in a dorm their first year because although it’s not where I prefer to live, it has helped me learn more about everyday tasks.

 

In high school, teachers and administrators always told me, “college is very difficult and professors are strict.” So, why wouldn’t you believe them? Coming into college, my expectations were that classes would be extremely hard. My expectations were that I would have a lot of homework, and not much free time. When I was in high school, I would always see the older kids and watch them experience college through social media, I would think “wow that looks like a lot of fun”. Some people I saw were best friends with their roommate, and others I would see just having a good time with other friends they met. Nobody showed the homework or the classes they took, so the only thing I knew was what my teachers were telling me. The way I have perceived college so far is you just must experience it yourself because everyone’s experience is going to be different.

In some aspects, the reality of college is better than my expectations. On the other hand, some are not as good as I expected. The classes I took this semester, and my professors were definitely better than my expectations. I was told the professors at college are going to be strict, not accept late work, and give lots of homework. The professors I have worked with so far are very understanding and as long as I communicate with them on what is going on, they understand we have lives outside of their class. I am working on homework a lot of my day, but the amount of homework I have had so far is not overwhelming like I expected it to be. In the beginning, everything will be a little overwhelming because it is new but for the most part, I have been adjusting to it. One of the things I expected to be better was my roommate situation. My roommate is very nice, but we don’t have similar interests. I am happy I found two other friends I enjoy spending a lot of my time with. I have learned it is good to have expectations but sometimes they are not always accurate.