Upon entering college, many of the standards movies and TV shows had set in my mind had been shattered. It's not all fun and game or as easy as it seems.
Going into my second semester of college, I have realized that you have to put hours on hours of studying into one test. One single test! In high school, you could easily study an hour before and get that good grade you expected. Well, surprise! Not in college.
Homework is normally optional in the more important classes. I cannot stress enough that doing the homework for bio or chem is the most important thing. It will set it in your mind, and during a test you will be able to think back to that one homework problem and that might be the reason you end up passing that test.
Being a health science major, I have to take a lot more science and math classes than I ever planned to, but it's what I have to do to get to the career I want. I have had to push myself endlessly to study and do homework, whether it's optional or not.
College is not easy breezy. You can't just coast through like high school. You won't get those same good grades as easily as you did senior year.
Coming into college you really do start from scratch. You have to make new friends, find your way around a new school, get into a new routine. It's going to be difficult, no matter how you go about it. It's going to seem easy at first, but then it'll all come crashing down and you'll have to build it back up again.
I personally think that you come into college with such high expectations built up, but it's not like that. Sure, parties are fun (sometimes crazy, but still fun), and making friends is going to be a fun thing, too (really take advantage of your online groups when searching for a roommate). But it won't come easy.
Go out, get involved, meet people that are interested in the same things as you. I work on campus and credit my job for bringing me close to some new friends who I just met this semester. I recently just got a second job and can't wait to see who I meet up with through it.
College is a fun, new experience. It's not like being a freshman in high school at all (so stop worrying while you're ahead). Just remember that you're not the only one feeling homesick or missing your family/pets. When you feel this way, go out and meet other people to get your mind off of it. Even when things are tough, tell yourself that you're not the only one who is having a hard time adjusting. It doesn't come as easy for everybody as it does to some people. But I can promise you, even if you don't believe it, that it will be worth it in the end. You'll find that group of friends, you'll get involved around campus, and you will make that school feel like a home.
Just keep pushing yourself, and don't give up.
