As I and hundreds of thousands of other college freshmen round out there 2nd month of classes, we are hit with the stunning realization that we are not as smart as we thought we were. Welcome to college where that myth you hear about studying 2 hours for every hour you are in class is actually all too true. Now if you will calculate, the average first-semester load is 15 credit hours or roughly 12 hours of class time in a week, which would mean a suggested time frame of 24 hours of weekly studying. Now, this does not include time spent on doing actual essays or assignments, oh no you need to factor that in as well. After all of that, you are expected to maintain balance.
bAlANcE? huh? Who is she? I don't know her.
At this point in the semester: I have been sick twice (this time I have such bad bronchitis, that I need an inhaler), the structure of 3 meals a day including fruits and vegetables seems like a joke, and my sleep has become much like that of someone who takes it wherever and whenever they can get it.
I'm sick, my roommate is sick, and everyone I know is some form of sick. I was told at the clinic last week that Mono was going around, so that's fun.
Today I crammed to do work in the morning just to be able to get a mere 30-minute nap. I didn't wake up for four hours. Despite the several alarms that I had set for myself and my roommate minding her own mid-day casual business. It was as if my body were soo sleep deprived that since I gave in it knew no other method of sleep than a coma-like state.
Today I ate a sandwich and 2 bites of a salad with water, and I consider that a well-rounded meal and an overall daily win. I can't tell you the last time I was able to go to the gym,
Not to mention the apparent need to have a social life. You know that thing called making friends. Or being able to participate in extra-curriculars like clubs or greek life.
Oh, and: some of us brave ones have jobs! Whether this job is 15 hours a week on campus or 30 off campus. They are braver than the rest of us and should be commended as such.
I am an extremely emotional person, seriously I normally cry at absolutely everything, but thus far I have been able to adequately control situations in an efficient manner without tears.
UNTIL LAST WEEK.
My body had enough of this bullshit I had put it through. I was sick, hungry, sleep deprived, and I got a computer generated math problem wrong one too many times, and I CRIED. I did the one thing I vowed never to do once I started college: I called my mom and just boo-hoo'd for 45 minutes without intermission. I told her every single little thing that had gone wrong since day 1 that I had been keeping from her to give off the allusion that I actually knew what I was doing. She assured me that I was not stupid and that everything I'm going through is normal. Then gave me actual advice as to what I could do to solve some of my problems. Sometimes you need your mom. And that is ok.
Right now I'm not even gonna even try to give the allusion that I have it all together, because I absolutely do not. Iand most of my peers are slowly but surely learning how to adapt to this harsher environment without the sheltered bubble that was a public school. For those of you who aren't aware, most people could get away with little to no studying and be able to scrape by with at least B's and a few C's. Mediocrity is no longer an option. If you do that in college, you're gonna get consistent 30's. It's a rough terrain to learn.
This article is not meant to in any way be a "light at the end of the tunnel" motivational speech. Because, the fact is I'm only at the beginning of this process, and the struggle is real.
So long story short next time you see that college student at your local Starbucks, or your family member who recently started college comes home for the weekend. Be nice to them. Let them sleep. If you ask how they are, and they respond with "I'm managing", please for the love of God: except that answer and move on. We are fragile and our brains have so many other things to navigate. We don't need another crisis. If you want to help, give us a well-balanced meal, and a firm pillow.
Maybe even a hug.
