Senior year of high school was stressful, worrying about your GPA, college applications, homecoming, prom, and worrying about how to pay for college. My mind coming into college was that it's going to be a blast. College is supposed to be the prime time of your life, this is where you discover who you really are. No one ever told me the range of emotions that I would experience in college.
1.Happiness
Yes! I survived high school. I'm ready to conquer the world,and take on anything. I'm finally breaking free from the nest, I am seeing and experiencing life on my own without my parents. Not living with my parents mean no curfew, no rules, no stress, and most importantly no nagging!
2. Nervousness
Okay, it's the first day of college. No big deal, it's just like high school I can do this. I have to keep telling myself to say Professor and not Mr. or Mrs. Where am I going to sit? How will I make friends? Who am I going to sit with during lunch?
3.Confusion
Where is the restroom? Where is my next class? This was not on the study guide at all. How is that the answer? When is that assignment due?
4. Sleep Exhaustion
All nighters. When you have a big exam tomorrow coffee is your best friend. You will not get any sleep the day before your test. You will be up all night stressing and going through your notes and doing online quizzes. In the morning on campus everyone is a walking zombie, their hair is a mess and they are carrying a coffee cup in their hand. Hello college, goodbye sleep.
5. Sadness
You will find yourself laying in your bed and thinking about your family and friends back at home and you will be crying yourself to sleep. Being homesick is a real thing, and it won't get easier. Keep close contact with your family friends and take weekend trips back home to see them as much as you can.
6.Overwhelmed
You are trying to keep up with your social life and staying connected with everyone. You are trying to keep your grades up, and stay ahead with everything that's going on with your class. Maintaining a job as a freshman can be overbearing, but you have to tell yourself that everything will get better. You will get overwhelmed with how different college is from high school. You will come to realize that professors will not give you many chances to make up your work or to turn things in. When the assignment is due at midnight, they mean midnight.
7.Frustration
You will find yourself sitting at your desk or at a table with your homework surrounded all around you, and you are going to find yourself wondering how you will finish everything when it's all due tomorrow. You will want to pull your hair out, and you will want to throw your homework and your books against the wall.
8. Doubt
You will be doubting yourself a lot throughout your freshman year. You will question your major, and if that's what you want to do with your life. You will question if college is the right thing for you. You will question if college is really worth it. You will question if you are wasting your time and your money.
It's okay if you are feeling this way, everyone is. Keep your head up, and keep chasing after your dreams. Everything will get better!
