When someone thinks back to their college experience, there is always some type of story that he or she thinks of. When someone thinks of being able to experience college, there are always so many different types of expectations.
When we compare these expectations and what actually happens in college, we see a time of life lessons that leave us on a rollercoaster of emotions.
1. Parents
It's true. You can finally get away from your parents and be independent from them just like you always wanted. Give yourself a few weeks—maybe a month—and you will realize that you want to be back in the house. You will realize that even though you're away from them, home isn't home without their homemade food and your laundry being done for you. You will become homesick at some point of your semester and probably want to go home and wonder why you ever wanted to leave in the first place. You'll find that they are one of the only people who can always make you feel comfortable with yourself and back at home. They will be the people who you run away to when you have a bad time at school, and they will always be the people to remind you of how much they believe in you.
2. Friends
Leaving high school, we promised our best friends that we would always keep in touch and stay close no matter what. A lot happens in college where we break away and find new friends. Friends come and go over time throughout college. There will always be those select friends who you will always stay close and in touch with, but you will also find that the person you called your best friend before may be someone you start to not know much about anymore. Meeting new people in college is the start of making new connections, but your circle of true friends will only become smaller and smaller over time as you grow older.
3. Love
It is OK if you came into college with a relationship, and it happens to turn out that things did not work out. Love is something so special and fragile, hard to come around when it's true love, but when it does it's one of the greatest things ever. It has the power to make someone, but also to break them. The person you called the love of your life may not be the person you fell in love with anymore, and that is OK. There may be many chances of love that you get in college, but don't let that be the main focus. Remember to love yourself before you love anyone else. Remember to know your own worth before you give someone the chance to control your emotions, and remember to know how to take back the authority of your own emotions when you know the time is right.
4. Career
Changing majors throughout college is something that happens in a normal matter. If you planned your life to be a certain way entering college, remember that life is filled with ups and downs. You may see that you don't want to major what you thought you would have a career in. You may see that you have a passion for another subject. For those who are struggling to follow the path they want to follow, remember that these are just obstacles to overcome. Failed a test? Shrug it off and work harder. Relax yourself. Don't overdo yourself. Remember that you're human and that it's OK when things do not work out the way you want it to. At the end of the day, do what makes you happy.
5. Identity
College is a chance where you can be independent and explore. It is a chance to break away from your parents and learn on your own. You start to find yourself and your role in the real world. You find out what you are capable of doing. You start to grow up and realize that what you used to accept was just tolerance. You step away from those who bring you down, and you get closer with those who remind you of why you are the way you are. Most importantly, you find your own worth.
6. Life
College reminds you that you are entering the real world very soon. Life is filled with many ups and downs. Not everything will go your way, even if you plan it to be a certain way. You start to contemplate all the things you've done and where you went wrong. You start to get frustrated that your plan is not going the way you wanted it to, but that's OK. People will come and go in your life. You will have to face some of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make, but without the hard times, what would be considered as good? It is what you make of the lessons of life, and college is only the start of it.
