There is No Standard College Experience

By: Gabby Southworth

College. We see it portrayed in the movies, on TV, in books, etc. The stereotypical college experience. College. Freedom. Frat parties. Drinking. Football games. Perfect roommate. Right? Wrong.

We spend four years of our lives in high school rushing to get to college, four years spent boosting our resumes, AP classes, and extra-curricular, to spend four more years at the school of our dreams.

I’m here to tell you that there is no standard stereotypical college experience. No two college experiences are the same.

We think we have to have it all figured out on day one. We think on day one we have to find our friends for the rest of our lives, our future spouses. We think we have to declare a major on day one, have it all planned out and know what we are doing for the rest of our lives.

College is different for everyone. And college in fact, isn’t for everyone. You might get rejected from your dream school. You might end up at a school that isn’t for you and that is okay. You may end up transferring, commuting, taking a semester off, switching your major 3+ times, dropping classes, and that’s totally okay.

My college experience was not how I planned it to be at all. I was rejected from my dream school, Georgetown, and ended up at Saint Joe’s in Philadelphia. Only a few days into the fall semester I was overcome with severe anxiety and depression, so severe that I ended up taking the fall semester off. I returned in the spring with a reduced course load, switched my major from physical therapy to a way less popular major, a major that made me happy, theology and psychology. And many of my friends had similar experiences… we just didn’t realize it because the way people portray their college experiences on social media make it look like they are having so much fun. We forget that people only post their happy moments on social media, not their sad moments.

My advice is don’t compare your college experience to other peoples because no two are the same. There’s no one way to experience college. Enjoy the ride.