While college is an important and life-changing time in our lives, it isn’t always what it's cracked up to be. Going into college, I unconsciously created so many expectations for how every aspect of the college life would be. Turns out, sometimes the reality of college isn’t as exciting or special as you thought it’d be. I’ve compiled a general list of activities where my initial expectation hasn’t quite yet matched with reality.

Saturday night

Expectation:

Reality:

I was so excited to go out to different parties with my friends every weekend. In reality, sometimes you or your friends just have too much going on and/or are too tired, so going to another frat party doesn't seem as desirable as staying in bed all night.

Instagram

Expectation:

Reality:

Especially going to school in LA, home to the artsiest cafés and shops, people in my school post the cutest and artsiest photos. I always thought "it can't possibly be that difficult to get cool pictures like those" until I tried them myself and, let me be the first to say, my pictures look much more similar to the "reality" photo posted here.

Working out

Expectation:

Reality:

Going into college, I was motivated to avoid the "Freshman 15" and stay in shape by going to work out anytime I could. I quickly realized going to work out always seems like a good idea until it's actually time to go work out. At that point, even doing homework seems like a more desirable option.

Productivity

Expectation:

Reality:

I was sure that in college nothing would stop me from that 4.0 GPA. I go through phases where I am so prepared and ready to be productive with my homework, but recently I learned that that phase quickly ends and I become tired and can't concentrate.

Getting sleep

Expectation:

Reality:

I always pictured myself getting homework done as early as possible so that I could get my full 8 hours of sleep every night. In college, because I procrastinate my work to the last second, I end up doing homework until the late hours of the night. My goal of 8 hours is dropped to 4 due to all my early 9 AMs.

Cleaning

Expectation:

Reality:

I spent a lot of time planning my college dorm room, and I was very pleased with how it looked when I was done unpacking. Unfortunately, my cleanliness did not last very long and before I knew it, my laundry needed to be done, my sheets needed to be changed, and desk needed to be cleaned off.

Although so far things haven't always gone to plan in college, I have taken everything as a learning lesson and hope in the future to attain the "expectations" more than the "realities."