College is supposed to be the best time of your life. That's what they tell us, anyway. Media portrays university life as abundant with parties, friends, and good laughs. These things exist, of course, but we cannot gloss over the fact that college is life, and sometimes life sucks. The expectations that we put on college students are unrealistic and create pressures for us outside of the general academic anxieties.

Here's a list of just some of the expectations that need to stop.

1. Binge drinking

This is an issue that requires more than just a brief explanation, but our society normalizes binge drinking in college. It's anticipated that you're going to get smashed every weekend. This is not only unhealthy but also dangerous. Binge drinking has almost become a ritual and a rite of passage for fraternities and college life in general. It's a threat to young lives. I'm not trying to demonize alcohol here, just please drink responsibly.

2. Balancing school, work, internships, extracurricular activities, and a social life

The academics of college are already difficult and time-consuming, but combine that with a job, internships, and other activities and you have a recipe for overwhelming stress and anxiety. Many students are forced to get a job to pay for school, and that's unfair. School is the priority, after all. It is what you're putting yourself into debt for. Oh, but you have to get involved in clubs and organizations to build your resume and don't forget about those (sometimes required) internships.

3. Knowing how loans work

To nobody's surprise, they never teach you about loans in high school. They tell you repeatedly about how student loans will plague you for many years to come, but never actually explain how they work, or even how you go about getting one. Not everybody can ask their parents about adult life.

4. Staying up past midnight

It's been proven that getting sleep is may more valuable than a late-night cramming session. Having a semi-regular sleep schedule is probably the best thing I've ever done in college. Your physical and mental health will thank you.

5. Neglecting your mental health

College students are suffering massively from mental health issues like depression and anxiety. It's because of all the pressure that is put on us, and we end up ignoring warning signs that we are going into a downward spiral. I know I was in a really bad place in my freshman year, and many of my friends were struggling as well. If you ever find yourself struggling, please reach out and get help.

6. Knowing exactly where we want our lives to go

We have no clue. Even people outside of college don't know where they want their lives to go, and that's okay. College is full of opportunities and we are making our way towards them. We don't know if we might discover a new passion, change our major, or get that internship that ends up being life-altering. Part of college is opening new doors, and gaining these life experiences. Let us figure it out.

7. Eating healthy every single day

Yes, it's important. Our parents always told us to eat our vegetables, and we try. Some of us really do try and succeed. However, when you have a ton of stress on your plate (pun intended), it's all too tempting to grab that extra cookie or load up your plate with the dining hall's incredible mozzarella sticks. We're working really hard, give us a break.

8. Putting all of our effort into every single class

It's important to put your best effort into everything you do, but that's difficult to achieve when that effort is being split between five classes, a job, an internship, etc. We have to prioritize to stay sane, or we'll burn out. That pop culture class that we have to take is not going to be #1 on our list of things to care about. We're going to focus more on our program's classes, and I think that's perfectly reasonable.

9. Having an endless supply of friends

Look, making friends in college is not easy. Everyone has their own schedule, their own interests, and are working just as hard as you. Having a social life is important, but you probably won't be able to hang out with friends as much as the movies portray. Everyone's too busy.

10. Enjoying every second

There are going to be days when you don't want to get out of bed and walk to class in the rain. There are going to be times when you're at a lame party but would much rather be at home watching Netflix, wrapped in your blanket like a human burrito. Nobody should feel guilty for any negative feelings that they experience while in college. Whether you're mad at a friend, missing your family, angry at a professor, or jealous that everyone else seems to be doing so much better than you. I promise that you're not alone, everyone else feels the exact same way.