The 10 things Guaranteed To Happen When You Go Back To School :
This week for a majority of college students is back to school time and everyone has certain feelings about going back, especially if this is your first year at college. There are many facets to going back like packing everything you’ll need and figuring out a permanent schedule. Most importantly above all else there is keeping your sanity whilst going through your first week back. These are the guaranteed things that happen once you go back to school, and if you haven’t already gone back you can prepare yourself by reading these :
1. Moving in may get easier with every year, but its always a hassle organizing everything once you unpack.
Bringing less important stuff every year is a valuable lesson you will learn throughout college, but one thing that will never get easier is organization of your room. You’ll have to locate a space for everything and if you’re unfamiliar with your living space beforehand that could take a while and your first day back can get a bit chaotic.2. You will not know your final schedule until about halfway through the semester
Between the classes and a job or internship, so many extraneous events come up that you had not anticipated before the school year started. You’ll be meeting with professors and picking up classes or shifts, so you will not have a solid schedule until around midterms. Just rolling with it and making sure you can handle it all is very important.
3. Your first week of classes will be full of introductions, but a lot of professors will just jump into the first lesson
A lot of students know how some professors cut the first class short because they know students are stressed for the first week back, but don’t expect that to happen in all your classes. I’ve had three classes including one four hour class and all three lasted until the scheduled time. This is because I have very passionate professors who want to get right into it without delay. It’s a bit disappointing but at least you know they care about your education and don’t want to waste any of your time as a student in that class.
4. You realize how much you will see your roommates or how much you won’t see them based on everyones schedules
Even with classes just beginning and schedules barely forming, there will be a pattern of when you will see the people you live with and when you won’t. Even if you’re friends or not friends, you can plan showering or using the kitchen around that which can be useful. Most of all it can be a tool to use to figure when you can hang out and chat together because it is important to have communication with your roommates in any form.
5. You will awkwardly see people you’ve not wanted to see ever since last semester
For various reasons we all have falling outs with people whether it be roommates, significant others, or friends. You can break up a friendship or relationship with someone who goes to school with you but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist anymore. Whether you just see them in passing or they’re living right near you, it won’t be pleasant to see them but you have to remember you removed them from your life for a reason. Toxicity is something no college student has time for in their lives.
6. You will quickly like or dislike your professors
It does not take very long at all to determine if you will like a professor or not, in fact you can usually come to that conclusion on the very first day of class. If they come off as strict and tough, don’t expect that to change. A lot of professors, like with their classes, like to cut to the chase and show their true colors early on. Stick through it though, because you may learn a lot from them! They are a professor for a reason. If you have one of the professors who are fun and passionate about the subject ahead, it can right away start making you looking forward to the class.
7. You are going to have to learn how to time manage quickly
In college the homework assignments are given on the first day and for the rest of the semester really, so already you have to start thinking about when you will do them and how long it’ll take you to do them. If you procrastinate when you do homework like I do, knowing when everything is due and when you must do them by is important. Especially if you have a job or anything else going on in your life outside school, managing your time is vital to success.
8. College time is a lot better/easier than high school time
Regardless if you are a freshman or senior, you will quickly realize that having up to 5 classes spread out over 3 or 4 days for only up to two hours at a time is infinitely better than 8 straight hours of back to back classes like in high school. In college you most likely do not have class every day and if you do you only have around 2-3 classes a day that while are longer than a high school class, the same class does not occur every day. You have more time to get work done and to study, even if it’s a more accelerated schedule in college. You’ll notice the difference and you will appreciate not having to get up at 5:30 a.m for school anymore.
9. You have responsibilities to follow in the living space you are in
Whether you’re in an on/off campus apartment or in a dorm building, you will find you will have responsibilities that change with every year. The first week is where rules are established and you will find what you have to do around the space. This could mean taking out the garbage or cleaning the shower, either way you will quickly know when you get back to school that as well as your academic responsibilities you also have domestic ones no matter where you live.
10. You have to remember to reserve time for you
This week will be one of the craziest weeks of the semester for anyone in college, this means you could get caught up in the chaos without remembering you need your time to relax. There are so many things going on that you could forget to take care of yourself and remember you are a human being with valid needs and feelings. If you need to take a break, do so. You know your limits and the first week of school will most likely test them. Just breathe and relax, you will be fine. You are going to rock this semester!
