Four weeks ago I decided to join the University of Dayton women's rowing team. I had rowed for two and a half years in high school so I naively expected it to not be THAT big of a transition. Of course, I was expecting a more rigorous practice schedule and for it to be more of a time commitment, but it was supposed to be easier to balance since I would only be taking four classes a day instead of eight, right? I could not be more wrong. Yes, you have fewer classes, but you have more homework, more papers, more tests to study for and less free time to accomplish them.

Here are a few of the things I thought I was prepared for, but simply wasn't.

1. Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork

The paperwork you have to fill out could be a whole class in itself. You finish the hard copy just to turn around and resubmit all of the same information in an electronic form. Not to mention the numerous calls you will be making to your parents to help you fill in all of the insurance or family health history sections.

2. The mental breakdown

This may happen the first day or may not happen until three months in. For me, it happened the beginning of the third week. I wasn't feeling stressed then all of a sudden I was in the middle of practice almost in tears. I had my whole to-do list running through my mind and there was no time left in the day to accomplish any of it. You are going to have to become an expert at time management. I have had to sit down and write out every single day in detail to make sure that I don't forget to do anything.

3. The early morning practices

I've never been particularly awful at waking up in the morning. Race weekends during high school I would have to get up at 4 a.m. I could do it with no problem. It's a whole other beast when you are getting up at 5 a.m. every morning and have classes that go until 6 p.m. You may need a wake-up buddy to make sure you don't miss practice.

4. Going straight to class

With the schedule that I have now, I have to go straight from practice to my 9 am class. I don't think there is anything that can compare to having to sit in a classroom for two hours in stinky gym clothes. You are constantly wondering how bad you smell like sweat and if other people can smell you. If you row, you may even be in a situation similar to the one I was in this morning where you are stuck in river water soaked clothes with nothing you can do about it.

5. Old versus new teammates

Going into rowing I knew it was going to be at least a little different team-wise because I wasn't going to be practicing or competing with the same people that I did in high school. What I didn't realize was how many times one of my new teammates would say something and I would think "that is something ____ would say" or even more often "right now _____ would be doing this or that." As wonderful as your new teammates may be, your heart will still hurt a little for the team and the coaches that made you fall in love with the sport.