If you're anything like me, you've been groomed for college since the day you were born. As a child, my parents constantly pushed the importance of college, and as I went through high school even more so. However, after going to college for a semester, I've realized it's not at all what I imagined. It seems like I'm not the only one either. A surprising amount of peers have expressed this same feeling. Some have even decided to drop out and figure out other paths to take their lives even if they feel their family wouldn't agree. Everybody has realized that college isn't what they expected or even wanted, and that's OK.
College is a big change for anybody. Whether the campus is across the country or a mere 10-minute drive from your childhood home, making the change from being a teen under your parents rule to an adult who makes their own decisions is a big change for anybody. Many people look forward to this new stage of life and don't take the time to realize that the present is just as important as their future.
However, as students transition from high school to college, they come to realize perhaps what they thought they wanted isn't where they are meant to be. Sometimes it may be a parent's dream, or maybe you feel you have a legacy to carry on at a certain college. Maybe college just isn't meant for you. Whatever the case may be, there is nothing wrong with wondering if this is where you're meant to be.
There was a stage in my first semester of college where I was completely discouraged and unhappy with my decision to attend a university. I truly felt that I have worked so hard for so many years for this dream but now that I was here, I wasn't meant to stay. I believed that everything I accomplished meant nothing because I had conditioned myself for a life I wasn't meant to lead. This feeling is perfectly normal and, if you feel that way too, I promise you that you aren't alone. A surprising amount of people I know have expressed these same concerns to me, or that they felt this way at one point. It's a normal part of every college student's life, as you can't transition to a completely new part of life without some doubts and concerns.
If you have these feelings, it's OK to accept that maybe this isn't for you. Just because this is what you once dreamed doesn't mean you have to stick with it. If it makes you truly does not make you happy, it's perfectly OK to find something that does. Changing your mind does not make you a failure, or mean that everything you've worked for is invalid. It just means you're human. College is a one hundred percent commitment, and it's completely your choice whether or not this is what you want. Talk to somebody, decide the proper path for you, and do whatever makes you happy.
