Have you ever been drop kicked into a totally new environment, where you don’t know anyone, the food is horrible, and you are forced to walk 10 miles a day but, still manage to gain weight? That’s college.
I’m 3 weeks into college, at least 7 pounds heavier, slightly uglier, and somehow more socially incapable. Not to be a Debbie-downer, but the first month of college is a very trying month. The hardest part is it seems like everyone else is having the time of their life. We are all guilty of making our lives seem far more glamorous than they really are. Nobody is going to post a Snapchat captioned “I’m having a horrible time, and I want to go home!!:)” If the only thing we ever see is the filtered version of everyone’s lives, it only makes sense that you would begin questioning the significance of your own. And that is exactly what I did.
People generally seem to like me, and I’ve always had a solid group of friends; so it was hard for me to understand why people weren’t dying to be my best friend. Once I started questioning this, it became a domino effect and I started to question everything. “Is it colors that are supposed to be washed in warm water?” “Why do people think pooping is grosser than peeing?” “Is it stripes or polka dots that make you look fat?” “Why does food cost money if everyone needs it?” And after about 13 Meg Ryan movies, a couple thousand tears, and my card getting declined at multiple establishments, I think I have it figured it out. College should be hard, because life is hard.
If everyone was nice, and all you did was color, then how would any of us be prepared for the harsh realities of adulthood? College is about finding your passion and then finding a way to live off of it or pursue it. Oprah says, “Do what you have to do, until you can do what you really want to do.” I’m going to have to agree with my girl, Oprah, on this one. Our generation gets so caught up in the lives of our peers, that we forget about our own lives. It’s difficult to remember that college is about getting an education not just four years of parties, Jimmy Johns, and Cheeto puffs. (as fun as that sounds).
The sad reality is 70 percent of Americans don’t have a college degree, so even having the chance to work towards one is not only a privilege but a rarity. So instead of dropping out of college, shaving my head, and attacking cars with an umbrella (similar to Britney in 2007), I figured I should be positive, and give it another shot. Who knows? Maybe college isn’t so bad after all! Maybe it’s just the stepping stone to something greater, fatter, and more fun! (we are still talking about college, right?)
