College is thought of as the best years of your life. Everyone always says that you need to enjoy these four years before you have to deal with all of the hardships that are thrown your way in the real world. As a high schooler, I totally believed them. But now, not so much.
Entering college, I thought I was going to have a blast. I thought I was going to get to hang out with friends every night, I was going to get to meet so many new people, I was going to be able to do whatever I wanted without having to answer to anyone. My life was going to be great. But in all reality, it's been nothing like that.
People don't tell you that homework will take up the majority of your day. They don't mention that you need to workout pretty much all the time in order to stay away from the "freshman 15". They don't say that making friends might actually be pretty challenging, especially if you are a quiet girl like myself. They only gave you the perfect picture of what life should be like as a college girl. And unfortunately, you believed them.
So now, here I sit, trying to figure out why I feel like I'm not experiencing "the best years of my life". I try to stay social and get out to meet new people. I have joined about as many clubs as possible and have met some super nice people. And yet I still feel like I'm missing out.
People also don't mention the pressure that comes with alcohol in college. I don't want to party. I don't want to drink every weekend. And yet I still I feel like I'm missing out. While I'm sitting on my couch on a Saturday night watching a movie or reading a book by myself, I look at people's snapchat stories of them at a party and I actually feel left out. Why is that? I don't want to party or drink or not remember what I did that night, but I do want to have fun.
After doing a lot of soul searching, I have finally come to this conclusion: your future matters. Even though college is supposed to be wild and crazy, in order to have a future, you need to be focused on what you truly want. So that might not include going to the parties or hanging out with friends every single second of every day. It might just mean that you're going to be stuck in your room for 24 hours at a time doing homework and living off of popcorn and candy. It might mean that you will end up eating in the cafeteria by yourself some days. It might mean that you are going to spend long amounts of time by yourself And that's okay. It doesn't mean that you're weird or a loner or don't fit in anywhere. It means that you have different priorities from others, some of which are probably for the better.
Just remember, you are preparing yourself for the future. It might be tough, it might be challenging, you might constantly wonder if you chose the right college or if you are doing the right thing. But always remind yourself that it will work out, everything will be fine, and you are going to do great.
