If you are a freshman in college chances are you are still dazzled by how different college is from grade school. It's not like anything you've seen; there aren't counselors to help make your schedules. There aren't teachers always available to help other than just the one hour long office hours they provide. There isn't even a group of people you could bond with most of the time because you're s caught up in your academic studies and organizing your shattered life back together. These are only the "symptoms" of becoming a college student, but what is causing all these "symptoms"? One answer: Stress.
When we were still in high school, we didn't have to worry about anything other than getting our homework and projects and school work is done on time. The most responsibility most of us have to make sure our parents are satisfied without academic progress, and we aren't doing drugs or anything stupid. Life was simple back then, we didn't have to plan anything or be concerned about financial issues or even think about how we should plan out our day because it would always be school, social life or extracurricular activities, and homework back home with warm food waiting for you. When you wake up in the morning, you may oversleep and turn off your alarm by accident, but that wouldn't worry you because you know your mom would soon come in and make you wake up and go to school. When you were sick, you had someone to take care of you, when you were tired you had your parents to clean up after you when you had trouble with homework you had help, and all of this just comes you without your need to plan out anything.
Now step back into the present, and you're in college now. You no longer have someone there to care for you, plan out your day, take care of you, take care of your finances, etc. All the responsibilities that your parents hid from you now drop right on top of you like a rock and before you know it, you're 18 already and an adult who's supposed to be responsible for yourself. Not only do you have to do everything on your own you now have to worry about things you never worried about before like your tuition money or spare cash to buy a hamburger from a fast food place. You may be alone now and without friends and family there to support you; it may take some time before you find anyone you could call a close friend so might as well be used to the silence.
College is more than just another school for studying; it's a place where you mature and become a member of society and recognizing yourself as a member. It's no longer fun and games, it's the real deal with real issues, and there's no way around it. Alcohol and drugs are what we call fun now because we could forget that we're adults but when the effects wear off, we come back to Earth say "here we go again."
