There are so many things that college students tell themselves to get through the day... even if they aren’t entirely true. It’s usually so we can feel like we actually belong in college. Guess what? It’s okay. At the end of the day, we are where we’re supposed to be and how we got there doesn’t matter too much. We might actually believe our lies, but more likely, some are to protect our ideology of our self-worth, some are to prevent us from feeling like failures, and some are just so we don’t have to feel bad about our decisions.
1. “I’ll keep in touch with all of my high school friends.”
I doubt anyone can manage to do this. It’s a nice thought after graduation, promising to text and Snapchat all the time, but eventually that will fade away with some of your friends. We all have a few special ones who we’ll keep in contact with, but the truth is, a lot of people change after high school. I find it hard to recognize some of my old friends when they post pictures on Instagram or Twitter, because they’ve changed into completely different people. It’s sad, but it makes me happy to know that they’ve evolved into who they want to be, even if we’re not close anymore.
2. “I won’t go out very much; partying isn’t really my thing.”
If you’re like me, this is actually true, but I’ve heard this sentence from so many people who end up going out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday every week. Once you get to college and have the freedom to do basically whatever you want, anything you thought about college life beforehand goes out the window. Hey, no judgments from me, you do you and have fun! Just remember to be safe.
3. “I’ll go to the gym every day, just to make sure I don’t get hit with the ‘freshman 15.’”
Coming in as a freshman, I totally thought I would take advantage of the gym and exercise facilities available to students. They have so many different things to do, and more importantly, it’s free! A lot of people actually do use the equipment to exercise, but I’m not one of them. I just finished my second year at Fisher and I have yet to step foot in the SLC with the intention to work out.
4. “I won’t use all of my meal swipes for the semester.”
The people who say this usually end up going to all the free food events at the end of the semester because they ran out too soon. When you have multiple dining options, get late-night cravings for junk food (like every college student ever), and can use two swipes per meal period, you’re going to use them. Just do so wisely! For people who have this issue, get a bigger meal plan for next semester and you’ll be all set.
5. “I’m going to do all of my assignments on the day they’re assigned, so I don’t have to do anything last-minute.”
Yeah, right. We all say that, and when do you usually finish the paper or assignment? That’s right, the night before it’s due, five minutes before class on the day it’s due, or maybe even 11:59 p.m. Even though we don’t like to admit it, procrastination is one of our best skills. Really, as long as it gets done to the best of your ability, it shouldn’t matter when you finish it, or so we tell ourselves.
6. “I’ll just take a half-hour nap between classes.”
If you’re like me and sleep as much as you can, whenever you can, then you probably want to take a short little catnap before your last class of the day on a regular basis. Also, if you’re like me, you might not want to wake up and just decide to skip that last class so you can add an extra hour to that nap before work…and it’s probably happened many times. Oops!
7. “My professor won’t notice if I’m not in class.”
For some college students, this is probably true. But for students who go to a small liberal arts college, not so much. Even if you have a legitimate excuse for missing class, it’s always awkward when you see your professor walking around campus that day, because if we’re being honest, it’s like they know where to find us; you always see at least one of your professors when you leave your room.
8. “I won’t be one of those people who just hooks up with someone; I’m going to wait for a relationship.”
Living in a coed college dorm, anyone single who can do this deserves a medal. You’re surrounded by hundreds of stressed out college students around ages 17 to 22; raging hormones are everywhere. Oh, and just for the record, it’s not only acceptable when guys do it. PSA: GIRLS CAN DO IT TOO. The double standards revolving around this are completely ridiculous. As long as you're careful, you should be able to do whatever (or whomever) you want, regardless of whether you're male or female.
9. “I’ll get up early to study for my test in the morning.”
I say this for every test and I think I’ve only actually done it once. If you’re planning to stay up late watching Netflix when you have to get up early and study, it’s probably not a good idea, because how often do you actually get up on time, let alone early? You'll hit snooze a few times and before you know it, you don't have enough time to study; you'll barely be ready to leave in time. This has you entering the test flustered, and quite frankly, screwed because you didn't study. Procrastination again, at it’s best.
10. “I don’t need to study that; I’ll remember it.”
It might seem like you’ll remember it from class, but if you don’t write it down in your notes to study, you’re just dooming yourself to forget it.
We may all tell ourselves we’ll do things that we actually won’t, but that's not what is important. Whatever it takes to get you through the day. If you fail that test, do better on the next one. If you miss class, get the notes from someone else in the class and make sure you’re aware of any assignments due. If you go out, sleep too much, miss an assignment, it doesn’t matter because you’ll be okay. College is a time to learn from your many mistakes and grow into the person you want to be. Just remember that once you do something, you can’t take it back.
