I think we can all admit we've fallen victim to this. Telling ourselves something we know to be false or ignoring the warning signs and dealing with the consequences later. You know you're lying to yourself when...
School food will get better
This one doesn't seem like it's asking too much. More money, better space, and resources seem like it would make it easier for them to get decent food. That's not to say all the food is bad. The individual restaurants and food places on campus are definitely a step up from the campus cafeteria. However, choices are limited and you can only eat chicken and fries so many times before you get sick of it. Not to mention the one good burger place isn't $15 dollars a meal. So yah school food kind of sucks.
8am no problem
This should be easy right? You started school at 8am since middle school so taking 8am's in college should be no different. Wrong!!! The voice telling you that 8am's are easy is evil don't listen to them. What's the difference you might wonder? First, you no longer have a parent watching over you to help you wake up and get ready. You have to get to class by yourself. If you fall asleep because you're tired - guess what, the professor doesn't care so you've missed an entire lecture and showed up for nothing.
I can have a functional social life
I believe any student no matter their age has struggled with and continues to struggle with this. You tell yourself that it's no big deal if you go out with your friends and stay out all night. You can just wake up and get that paper done in the morning. Wrong. You wake up exhausted, no motivation, scrambling to get everything done only to end up barely making a decent grade on the paper. Sometimes you just got to become a recluse and study non stop to pass the semester - then go have fun with your friends.
Buy all your textbooks or you will fail
This one might be more of a common misconception then a lie but it’s still true. I’ve fallen victim to this many times. Don’t feel like your only option is going to the bookstore and buying all your books. Always try and find cheaper or even free options. If you are allowed to use your computer download the books in pdf form. I guarantee there are many options to explore before going and buying from your bookstore.
This semester will be better
Now I don't want to seem like a downer, but I think we've all felt this at one time or another. Sometimes things just keep going downhill despite our best efforts. All you can do is ride it out the best you can and say “it'll be better next year." Hopefully one of these times it will be true.
I’ll plan ahead
This one I feel so deeply it's sad. I get a planner and tell myself to write everything down so I know when assignments are due and I can check them off. Consistently I write a few things down, forget to use my planner and fly by the seat of my pants the rest of the semester.
I’m going to wear my best outfits everyday
This was me my freshman year. I was determined to make great impressions on everyone and always look my best. Now it's my junior year and while I still like to look nice I'm proud when I decided to not just throw on basketball shorts, flip flops and an old t-shirt. Trying to look great for people in your class who you probably only see two or three days out of the week is exhausting. If you are someone who likes putting a lot of time in your outfits then go for it, but sometimes we all feel the need for a sweatpants and sweatshirt day.
Cars on campus are worth it
Thankfully I've not fallen victim to this tragedy myself, but I know plenty of people who have. Parking is expensive and often a huge pain. Don't get me wrong - I know the benefits can outweigh the negatives, but this is just a lot. There's the issue of only parking in certain spots at a certain time, the cost of the spot and then on top of everything else, you have to move your car for tailgating.
I can pay off my debt no problem
I don't have to worry about this yet, but I am not looking forward to this. Paying off debt is super hard. You have to accumulate debt to get a good degree so you can hopefully get a semi-decent paying job. Plus pay off the other debt you will accumulate form living and working and trying to payback off your other debt. All in all, it's a nightmare.
I don’t need 8 hours of sleep
This is definitely a struggle. Between the several hours you are in class to the several hours of homework on top of that, plus maybe 1-2 hours for extra activities there's really no time to sleep. That's probably why college campuses have so many coffee places. Cause they know they can profit off sleep-deprived college kids. Can we bring back nap time for college students, please?
Well there you have it. So if you know what's good for you you'll take this advice and avoid these traps.
