In high school, it was easy. No matter how much you don’t want to admit it, it’s true. Whether it was your parents’ constant schedules that kept you in line or your own determination to ensure that you succeeded, or even a mixture of both, you became the honors student. You took difficult classes and strived for the best and came out on top. It was no surprise when you got accepted to every college you applied to. You accepted one of the offers of admissions to the university and maybe even the honors program and you were so excited to start that portion of your life.
Then you got there. And it began.
Your parents dropped you off with tear-filled eyes and as determined as you were not to cry, the moment you saw their car turn the corner was when the first tear slipped out of the corner of your eye. You quickly brushed it away with the question, "Why am I crying? This is what I’ve always wanted." So you made the trek back up to your room and started preparing for the first day of your new life.
Flash forward to the middle of the semester. You’re swimming in homework and it seems like every time that you accomplish something, five more things get added to your to-do list. Where are your parents’ schedules that kept everything together in high school? Why can’t you just seem to get the hang of college? Why does it seem like so much more work than you have ever had? What happened to the honors student?
We’ve all been there. More than once have we been reduced to a puddle of tears because of the unending piles of work that need to be done, counting down the days until there’s even just a short break. Those were the days that we wonder how we even got accepted into college in the first place because we felt stupid.
When you get to the end of the semester, you log onto Facebook and see everyone posting their stellar grades. Then you think back on your own. How did these people do it? You practically dedicated your whole life to studying that semester and you didn’t get nearly as high of a GPA as your peers. That’s when you really start to question just how smart you are.
Here’s what I say to you when times get tough and you doubt your capabilities as a student:
Just hold on. Take a deep breath and conquer one assignment at a time. Don’t beat yourself up. You are not stupid and you are in college because of that. Remember to take care of yourself, and no, that doesn’t mean downing anything with caffeine and shoving half of a pizza into your mouth. Rely on your friends and professors for help. Face every challenge that gets in your way with a good attitude. Be resilient. Most of all, remember to be happy, because you deserve it.
You will thank yourself when you’ve made it out. It will all be worth it, I promise.
