As the summer days go by one by one, every pre-college student starts to feel a whirlwind of emotions - I know I have. We think of every possible thing that could go wrong. Will I be homesick? Will school be too difficult? Will I make friends? How bad will the food really be? All these questions plus many more swarm your head in the weeks before leaving. Then you have days where there is nothing but excitement. Many people make these expectations of college, some that are realistic and others that may not be. Whatever your feelings are, you’re probably not alone.
As a kid, college has always been this amazing idea. One that was far in the future, but as a student who is days away from moving in, it just starts to become so overwhelming. Everyone tells you, “I’m so jealous you’re going to college, I wish I could go back,” “Wow, college is one of the best parts of your life.” All of these things makes the transition seem so reassuring, but the reality is, until you experience it yourself, you can’t form that opinion. Personally, I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of not coming home and sleeping in my bed, not being able to cuddle with my dog after a long stressful day, having a home cooked meal ready for you, and being able to just relax. I know with time these fears might just be something we laugh about because we can’t believe that we were actually freaking out over this, but until then I might still be freaking out.
Things are going to change, and part of us is saying, “I’m ready!” while the other part of us is wondering, “Am I ready?” Let me be the first one to tell you, feeling like this is so normal because all of us are feeling the same way.
We have so many things to look forward to: football games, new friends, clubs, Greek life, and being in charge of our education. Growing up, we’ve never been able to really choose our path of education. You always had to take the generic class schedule, but now it’s all up to you! There are endless amounts of excitement and new things that are going to come at us. We only get to be college freshman once, and I can tell you right now I for one am going to love every second of it.
