I’m officially a sophomore, and I’m here for the freshmen of 2017 with some words I could have used this time last year. In a lot of ways, words I could still use myself now.
College is a busy time. It can and probably will be exciting. It’s likely fun. It’s not easy.
College is a whole new lifestyle. Setting up new lifestyles is a complicated process. There are buildings to find, rooms to set up, people to meet, classes to prepare for… the list goes on. The point is, you won’t feel settled in at first, and you’ll probably miss wherever you came from. You may well be excited about everything going on, and there may well be amazing highlights in the first three weeks. That said, there will be some pretty bad low points over them, too.
Alright, maybe not a full three weeks. But maybe more than that. It depends on a lot of things. But this is the point: If it’s awful, don’t panic. If you think you won’t be able to handle it, stick it out a little longer. Everyone tells you about all the good things involved in moving to college, and they’re right, too. Where we all fall short is neglecting to mention the hard parts and leaving everyone to feel like they’re the problem when the hard parts exist.
I didn’t think maintaining the schedule I needed to was possible during my first three weeks of college. Setting my alarm back five minutes made the difference between late and just on time. Every second felt like some kind of social exam. Two weeks in I had a conversation with my roommate at 3 AM, trying to make ends meet so we could both sleep and study. We tried to sleep in 1.5 hour shifts throughout a 24 hour cycle.
In the end, though, we got 8 continuous hours of sleep instead. Homework will grow to consume whatever time it is given. Under pressure, you can do more in shorter times than you think.
I stopped looking at college as a social exam and let myself do what I wanted to do (within reason). It isn’t your job to make everyone like you—some people probably won’t. That’s okay. What’s important is that you take care of yourself (like, really take care of yourself). Push yourself, yes, but don’t push yourself so far that you fall to pieces.
Doing your best does not mean working yourself to a mental breakdown.
Don’t take all this the wrong way. College is an incredible experience, and I think it’s definitely possible to enjoy a lot of it every step of the way. I’m trying to prepare you for the other times, because there will be both. The hype is real, but so are the crashes. Balance is key, and even if you find that balance is elusive, you’ll get there.
You’ll figure it out. You’ll survive. Better than that—you’ll live.
