I’ve talked about my experience so far in college multiple times before, but I don’t think I’ve gotten that much into the hard parts of it. I have mentioned things about having a long commute and making new friends, but I haven’t elaborated much. Everything I’ve said on this blog is 100% true to what I feel and I’ve been loving college so far, but there are a few things that have been difficult.
What drove me to write this post was a statistic I heard (or reheard) in my psychology class. One in three college students experiences some form of mental illness. I had heard this statistic before, but the timing of this statistic is what drove me writing this. The lesson was taught just after a few of my friends had confessed to me their struggles of being in college.
This is pretty common. I mean, college is a big transition that the media always portrays as the best years of our lives; that everything will be perfect. This is in no way true. Some people have trouble adjusting academically. Others don’t like the city they are in. A friend of mine confessed to me that she had stopped eating for a while and lost an exorbitant amount of weight. There are many good things about college, but there are still some struggles.
For me, the struggle has been creating a community. In high school, I had a whole band of weirdos who would dance with me in the middle of the hallway and take walks with me when I was bored. I really miss that. Last semester, the quiet was great. I thrived under it. I felt so recharged because I had so much time to think to myself after years of going back and forth being surrounded by people at home and at school. (I am very much an extroverted introvert if that makes any sense). Being able to drive on my own once I turned eighteen made me realize how insane I was going. Driving to school became one of my favorite parts of the day senior year because it was the only alone time I had.
But recently, I’ve missed being around the same people every day. Don’t get me wrong, I have made friends, but since I commute, I have to make plans to see them and my schedule doesn’t always align with that. Even then, some days I just need a hug. Not a family hug. One of those long tight hugs that only really close friends can give you. I don’t have that, yet. And I don’t think that’ll happen this year.
All this really comes down to my priorities. My priorities are my grades, my work, my family…..and sleep. (Sleep is a huge priority for me) Those things are much more important to me than making friends right now. It’s too exhausting to go to campus on days I don’t have class. And on the days I do, I just want to beat the traffic home.
I don’t want to sound like a stick in the mud, but college is not all it’s wrapped up to be (Not just my opinion). This is mostly because I don’t live on campus, but I don’t have any student loan debt because of that fact and that’s much more important in terms of my future than going drinking every night or having sex with some random guy (or girl) I’ve just met.
And I do want to mention that college is amazing. I got straight A’s last semester, my family is closer than before, and I have so much more freedom. I like it more than high school and I loved high school. But I don’t want to paint an unrealistic version of my life. Most college students struggle with something. They just don’t talk about it. Depression is something a third of college students experience. I am not experiencing anything like that, but I know people who are.
I just want you to know that I’m with you here. I struggled academically when I entered a college leveled high school (I remember failing my first test, yikes!), so I can understand if you are experiencing that transitioning into college. At this point in our lives, we’re supposed to act like we know what the heck we’re doing even though we don’t know where our lives are headed. I hear you. Sometimes plans will change and you’ll have to drop a class or take a semester off or transfer to a college you like more. That doesn’t mean you’re a failure!
I’m digressing a bit. I’m not struggling to a point where I need to drop a class or feel depressed. I’m just having a lot of trouble finding a way to end this post.
Well, then….I guess, bye? Sayonara? Till next time? Sorry for the abrupt ending. I just have no idea where I’m going with this. Not every blog post is going to end tied up in a bow. This is how life works. Get used to it.
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What struggles are you experiencing right now? What rough patches did you go through in your Freshman year of college?
General Life Update – January has been such an underproductive month. I am REALLY having trouble getting back into the swing of things. Literally, today I wrote in my planner “Get your f***ing sh** together!” Hopefully, this week will do the trick. I’ve made a to-do list and everything. Goodnight. I’m going to bed now.