College is tough, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar. It's not impossible, but what they forgot to prepare you for in high school is the life aspect of college. What do I mean by life? Well, to put it simply, how to productively live in college. Making new friends, being away from home, living with people, budgeting (meal swipes and time)... things you haven't had to think much about for the past four years are suddenly thrown at you; YOU are now the adult.
There's no more teachers or parents who can step in and fix your problems (although my parents always encouraged me to try and fix things on my own first) because now it's up to you and only you to fix and to do what you have to do to get by. And it's really hard. The beginning of my college experience was pretty easy breezy; I came in with a solid group of friends, I was involved on campus, I felt confident in my school work, life was good! I coasted along nicely that first month and felt sorry for all my high school friends who were stressed and freaking out about college, cause I had no idea what they were talking about. I'm sure I can speak for most when I say that when this period of bliss ends, it hits you like a brick wall. In what felt like seconds, I was suddenly overwhelmed by my workload, stressed about my social life, incredibly homesick, and doubted multiple times whether college was even a good fit for me. It's even more frustrating when you don't know how to fix it, especially for a control freak like me who bugs out when the smallest thing isn't planned out and organized. And I realized this isn't something that other people can help you with, it's purely a mental game.
As corny as it sounds, you really are the only one standing in your way, and as soon as you get over that metaphorical bridge, it's a game changer. In the beginning of college, I tried very hard to be laid back and go with the flow. I don't like drama and was happy to be rid of the immaturity found in high school, and college seemed like a much more mature environment. I quickly realized that, unfortunately, some people are still stuck in high school and put too much time and effort into pointless drama. I also realized that passive aggressiveness runs rampant, and for someone who has always been upfront and blunt with things, it's incredibly frustrating and immature.
Despite all of these obstacles, I can say one absolute certainty about college life: you will find your niche. You will find your people, the group of people who you can go to no matter what, and will always, without hesitation, pick you up when you're down. And the more you're involved in, the bigger that group grows. Coming from someone who was barely involved in anything in high school, going to college and branching out and joining every single extracurricular possible, it is a decision I do not regret in the slightest, and it's made my support group that much better and more diverse.
College has also taught me that life is too short to be wasted on pettiness and immaturity, and has helped me learn to fight for myself and fix things. And don't scoff at missing your parents, I thought I couldn't wait to leave home and while I'm incredibly happy away at school, I really look forward to visits with my parents and sister. So for all of my first time college goers out there feeling overwhelmed or stressed, take a deep breath, listen to some pump up music (I suggest "Eye of the Tiger"), go out there, do your thing, and kick some ass. You got this.
