It's that time of year again when it's time to go to college. For some of us, we have said our goodbyes to our families and headed back to our dorm rooms, fraternities, or sororities, by car or plane, and come back to our newly proclaimed independent lives. Some of us have left home and stepped onto college campuses for the first time and started the next chapter in our lives. There are even some of us that have yet to leave home, but we are still getting our education by going to community college. Despite different scenarios, we're all going through the same process, so here are the seven moments we all experience when starting a new school year in college.
1) Getting settled into new classes.
Maybe you're taking classes to fulfill your general ed. Maybe you're taking classes for your major. Some of them you will like; others you will not, but regardless, you have to take them in order to graduate, but no matter hard it will be, us college students will make it through because we're that awesome.
2) Meeting your professors.
Going into class, you have no clue who you're professor is going to be. Sure, you've done your research when registering for classes, but still, you have no clue what they look like, what their criteria is, how they're going to grade you, and what the assignments are going to be like. Yes, you might have gotten that information while doing you research, but still, you have yet to judge for yourself.
3) The Dreaded Internal Debate on How to Get Your Textbooks
To purchase or to rent? New or used? Get them at the college bookstore or online? This might be the biggest struggle that every college student has to face. We all try to get our textbooks the cheapest way possible, but despite our efforts, we're always going to lose a couple hundred dollars.
4) Heading back to the books.
Now it's time to get back to studying. It's been awhile due to summer vacation, but once you start going to your classes, you start to pick up your study routine and habits again. But then there's...
5) Resisting the urge to procrastinate.
No procrastination! You will not misguide me! I will not be fooled by you again!
Procrastination: A likely story.
6) Having to (possibly) waking up early again.
Ugh! To get up or to get a few more minutes of sleep? It's always such a struggle. When you are woken up to your alarm, all you want in the world is more time to sleep. There's no use arguing that! What makes it even worse is when you have that moment when you fall back asleep when it's, say, 6:30 in the morning, and you wake up, after which feels like a second later, and it's 7:10, and you don't remotely feel well rested, not even close. If anything, you've just amazed yourself on becoming an amateur time-traveler.
But despite all of the stress of doing homework assignments, finding your classes, and finding an available parking spot in the mornings, nothing beats...
7) Bumping into your friends again.
Whether they're from high school or from previous classes from the previous year(s), they're sure to brighten your day.
A new semester has begun. It's time to bring out the freshly sharpened pencils and pens and get to work. I wish all new and returning students luck in their first weeks in college and I hope that we all have a great semester ahead of us.
