I’ve just finished my first semester of college, and I must say that it was not quite what I expected. While movies, books, the media and everyone you know will offer you conflicting ideas of what college life is really like, none of them will be able to tell you exactly how your college experience will be. While the first semester of college is exciting, expectations and reality likely do not line up.

Expectation: You’ll make tons of friends right away.

Reality: You’ll meet a lot of people, but most of them won’t be your friends.

Everyone has the idea that they’ll go to college and suddenly have a large, diverse group of friends. We’ve all seen the pictures of a multicultural group of friends smiling and laughing on a perfectly green patch of grass. But that’s not really what happens. You are going to meet a lot of people, but you’ll only really become friends with a few of them, and that’s fine. You’ll make friends like you, but you’ll also meet a lot of people that make you think about things differently because they have perspectives unlike yours.

Expectation: Living in a dorm is like a constant party.

Reality: Living in a dorm is basically just having a lot of siblings.

There will be fun things going on in your dorm, especially if your RA puts on fun events for you, but it won’t be a constant party. People won’t just be hanging out in the halls all day, and most people won’t have their dorms open all the time for you to just pop in and hang out. You’ll probably have some friends living in your hall, but with most people, you’ll just smile at them if you walk by. Your neighbors may annoy you by playing loud music or spraying things in the hall, but for the most part, you won’t really care about them.

Expectation: Dining hall food will be the absolute worst.

Reality: It’s not the best food, but it’s probably not bad for a while.

Everyone assumes that eating in the dining hall will kill you, but in fact, most schools are providing nutritious options that actually taste good. You’ll probably get tired of eating the same things after a while, but you can usually make it until your next break to be able to eat some home-cooked meals. The key is finding things you like, but also being willing to branch out and try new things once in awhile.

Expectation: Freshman fifteen.

Reality: New responsibilities, namely your health.

The freshman fifteen is possibly one of the scariest things about going to college, but it’s totally avoidable. Sure, it is possible to eat junk food and sit around all the time, but you don’t have to. Your dining hall has healthy options, and there’s probably an amazing gym on campus that you can use for free. You just have to be mindful of what you’re eating and how you’re taking care of yourself.

Expectation: You will be homesick all the time.

Reality: You will be homesick, but it won’t be all the time.

Some days are going to get you, and you’ll want nothing more than to be at home with your family. Other days, you’ll be so grateful you get to go to college that you won’t think anything of it. Still other days, you’ll be so busy, you won’t have time to think about what you might be missing. All that really matters is that you appreciate the opportunity you have to be there, and the fact that you have a fantastic family to go home to.

The first semester of college comes with a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, it’s what you make of it. It can be an amazing experience if you stay focused on what you’re there for, but also remember to have some fun. No two people will ever have the same experience, though, so not having any expectations may even be best. But overall, it’ll probably be great. I know mine was.