When we all prepare for college, we are so excited. We have already picked our dream school and have been pouring over the pictures of the dorms. Which one should we pick? Are we going to be so excited by the time the day comes? What bedsheets should we acquire for that twin bed we have to deal with for the next year or so? Do we know anyone that is going to the same school as us?

In other words, we are still excited!

The day comes as we are finally relaxed from moving in. All of our clothes are on hangers in the smallest closet known to man. Our books, from the bookstore, sit on our desk that is now covered in pens and pencils, possibly a printer as well. The posters from our old high school bedroom scatter the walls, along with posters from the college we are attending. Everything is all settled and it is time to get down to business!

Now, we are so used to our parents doing things for us. We don’t know what we are missing until it is eventually gone. Our mothers used to wake us up for school if we were lucky. Now, we have to rely on an alarm clock. We also think that we can go to classes that are so early in the morning since we just did it in high school. Well, we definitely do not feel the same way when we have to wake up by ourselves.

On top of having to wake up by ourselves, we have to learn how to cook by ourselves. Our mothers used to make us pot roast, noodles, and prepare a delicious dessert. I used to watch my mother cooking, attempting to learn myself. However, when you live in a small dorm, you do not have the option to make the most beautiful dinner. Nonetheless, why not have fun while you can?

Does everyone hate laundry as much as me? Don’t you remember when mom would call you on a Saturday and told you to take your laundry downstairs? I miss that as much as most people do. I can’t stand doing laundry, especially on a college campus. You have to deal with paying for the washer and dryers. One of my biggest annoyances is when one person takes over more than one washer and decides to not allow others to use them.

Don’t get me started on trying not to catch every illness on campus. When we lived at home, we were only exposed mostly to parents and siblings. In high school, we knew what diseases were spreading around the town because there was usually rumors spread. I remember when swine flu was a huge epidemic, my town sent out warnings to all the parents to tell them to keep their children at home if they expressed any symptoms. My first year of college, I was exposed to strep throat without realizing it was a thing. So, as much as we would love to have our mothers’ chicken noodle soup, we have to learn how to avoid illness.

Then, college itself is quite the experience. We have to learn how to juggle school, our attempt at a social life, work, sleep, and sanity. Syllabus week is one of the easiest weeks that you will always have. However, you will get swamped with your 20-page papers, lab work, and your long shifts from work. You will seem like everything is going to go wrong and want to give up.

After all of these things, you will learn, do not be scared of your college experience! It will be OK! Life changes and that is alright. College will be the best experience you will ever have!