YAY! You’re an adult now! You’re going to be leaving home, moving into a dorm, sharing a space with complete strangers, and wearing flip flops in the shower! It's an exciting and terrifying time of life, sort of like the adventures of one famous boy Wizard.
1. When you know everything is going to be different.
Everything is going to change now, isn’t it? To quote Harry, “Yes.” (Unless you already wear flip-flops in the shower, then I guess not everything.) It’ll be a good change though, much unlike the change Hermione is referring to in which Voldemort reincarnates himself. No, this change will, in a sense, be a reincarnation of yourself. You 2.0. The you that could have ice cream for three meals a day but will eventually work up the self-control to limit yourself to just after dinner a few nights a week. The you that knows how to do laundry and separates your colors from your whites (okay, I don’t even do that, but washing everything is progress). The you that calls to schedule your own doctor’s appointments, can sleep in 'til noon or power through and take that 8am, the you that is suddenly thrown into the world of independence and adulthood, and though it may look scarier than Mad Eye Moody turning back into Barty Crouch Jr., you’re going to be fine.
2. That feeling when your mouth doesn't say what your brain means.
Remember when Mrs. Weasley told Harry to speak very, very clearly? And remember how he didn’t? That feeling of tripping over your words will happen a lot, and don’t worry, it won’t always send you to Knockturn Alley. The first time you speak up in class, when you try to pronounce a building’s name (at Bowdoin, we have a building called Druckenmiller, and for the first month, I thought it was Drunkenmiller), when you go to your professor’s office hours and you suddenly can’t even say your own name. These things are normal! And if Harry can make it out alive from his word fumble, so can you!
3. When you're used to being the best at everything.
College is harder than high school. No matter where you go, whatever you’re studying, it’s a different level. For those of us who always succeeded in high school – Top 10%, summa cum laude, valedictorian, etc. – not doing as well as we did can be a bit of a shock (kinda like what happened to Hermione’s hair). It can make us feel inadequate because school always came naturally, and now it didn’t. THIS IS OKAY. Yes, it feels awful when you don’t make the Dean’s List, but it’s not the end of the world. Not doing as well as you did in high school means that you are finally challenging yourself, and challenging ourselves is what helps us to grow. Don’t worry so much about your GPA or your test scores. Yes, it’s important that you don’t fail, but Bs are fine, and “Cs get degrees.” So take that Oceanography class even though you doubt your scientific abilities. Take the English class on Early European Literature with the professor that you’ve heard grades harshly. College is not just about going through the motions to get a degree, it’s about finding yourself, what you like, and pushing yourself to grow. After all, “what do you call a medical student with a 75 average? Doctor.”
4. Always appreciating the little things.
If you remember this scene, Harry just walked into the tent that the Weasleys set up at the Quidditch World Cup in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." On the outside, the tent looks like a regular tent that you or I would attempt to set up, and one that would fit maybe three people cramped close together. Once inside though, Harry is in awe of how much magic can do, how beautiful it is. If you chose the right school, this will be the feeling you have quite often when walking around your campus. It’ll be the little things, like the bricks that make up the dorms or how blue the sky is, the wall of posters indicating the many events happening on campus, or when the dining staff sets out your favorite vegetable to go with dinner that night (mine is steamed zucchini). It’ll be a feeling of awe and reverence, and even a little bit of wondering how in the world you were so lucky to go here.
5. Don't be afraid to just go for it!
“Now, all you’ve got to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Best do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous.” Going to college is a lot like trying to get onto Platform 9 3/4: it looks slightly scary, you’re not sure what’s going to happen or what it is going to be like, but you have to just go for it. You have to trust that you won’t crash face first into the wall like Harry did in Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, that Dobby is not manipulating the barrier to close on you, and that the world is not against you. Almost everybody wants to see you succeed, and there are many resources at your college to help you do just that, be it your professors, teaching assistants, deans, counselors, tutors, friends, etc. When you arrive on campus, all of these resources will be pointed out to you, and it isn’t cowardly to use any of them. Asking for help is healthy. If Harry hadn’t, how can we be sure he would’ve ever arrived at Hogwarts?
All you have to do now is run at the wall. To quote Ginny Weasley
