Summer may be nearly halfway over, but I still can't decide if the glass is half empty or half full.
On one hand, I've got a little over a month to do more exciting, fun activities with my summer vacation, and I can look forward to an awesome senior year and finally applying to colleges (and getting started with my life).
On the other hand, I have to think about all of the logistics that go into entering college, from leaving behind best friends to having to learn to stand on my own.
For years, I've hyped up the idea of going to college, namely moving to a big city, doing important things, and not having to follow anyone's overarching rule but my own. However, with independence comes responsibility, meaning that my parents won't always be there to clean up my messes behind me. Most importantly, college means establishing an identity that's separate from my parents, and that can be very daunting if the consequences, both good and bad, of the situation aren't thought about seriously.
Being that I just got home from a week-long "mini college" camp at University of Florida, I've been able to take into account what being a college student will really mean (to some degree). So, to my fellow high school class of 2017-ers (and college class of 2021-ers), here are the six things I am and am not looking forward to in college:
1. I AM looking forward to the academics and new ideas.
Just think, one day I won't be forced to take biology and take an EOC simply to fill a state requirement. One day, learning about writing won't just be limited to my AP English class. One day, I can take a class about occupational therapy because why the heck not!
From what I've learned from my sample of mini college, I've already seen the vast differences between high school classes and college classes. Sure, I love high school, and I don't really mind what I'm learning, but I love the idea that with college you have so much more flexibility regarding what you can learn, not to mention you can major in and focus on a specific subject that you're really interested in. After exiting the halls of high school, education becomes about so much more that just completing a requirement. Education becomes learning how to complete yourself.
2. I AM NOT looking forward to the dining hall food.
Granted, dining hall food is exciting... at first. I've stayed on a few college campuses for week-long camps and taken part in the universities' various dining experiences, and let me tell you, the food gets old after about a week (or less). Your dining hall experience depends on the university: some dining halls are tastier than others, some are more diverse than others, and some are healthier than others. When touring campuses, make sure to catch a glimpse of the dining hall, or at least look up weekly the menu on the school's website. After all, if you stay on campus, most schools require you to buy an expensive meal plan.
However, university dining is a MAJOR step up from high school "dining," if you can even call it that. In the end, always appreciate the fact that there are dining hall workers there day in and day out to provide students with hot meals to get students through the day.
If all else fails, many campuses have restaurants (like Starbucks, Subway, Einstein Bagel Bros, etc.) to eat at, or you could just get an apartment and cook for yourself!
3. I AM looking forward to the exercise.
One thing I always love about staying on a college campus for a camp is all of the walking I get to do. Just at my camp last week where I was limited to a certain area of the UF campus, I was walking at least three or four miles a day, making up for the fact that there was no room in my mini college schedule for exercise.
Additionally, living on campus means access to the school gym and being able to bike everywhere! Two of my favorite things. Can't you just smell the freshly mowed grass as you go for a morning ride? No? Just me? Oh well, your loss.
4. I AM NOT looking forward to being away from my family.
Being an only child gives me this strange combination of being quite independent while also being very attached to my parents. Sure, I've been on week-long sleep away camps to college campuses and campgrounds and have had to take care of myself to a degree, but I always slightly miss that comfort of being in an environment that I don't have to "adjust" to and people (friends and family alike) who already know me and love me inside and out. Being home is easy and comfortable because there's no pressure to do this or that; you can just be.
However, being home means giving up some of that newfound independence, and that can be a little frustrating, to say the least. Having to follow "house rules" and not being able to entirely be your own boss can seem agitating at times, but just remember that your parents love you because you're their kid, even if you think of yourself as "not a little kid anymore." You'll always be you're parents' baby.
5. I AM looking forward to meeting new people.
Many have mixed feelings about letting go (at least temporarily) of strong friendships back home and having to make all-new friends in this new place where nobody knows one another. The fear of rejection by your new peers can be scary. Here's the the thing though: all new college students are in the same boat, and most everyone wants new friends! With new friends come new ideas and ways of life, too. Though all of your academic learning may come from your textbook or inside a classroom, the real life lesson learning comes from learning from your peers. Besides, if you just choose to stick to the same friend group that you've had since you were a little kid, it's going to be hard to really expand your way of thinking and have the full "college experience."
I remember setting down my suitcase in my dorm at my "mini college" camp at UF and being both excited and scared about meeting my roommates. Would they like me? Would I like them? I knew that I didn't have to be instant BFFs with my roommates, but I wanted to at least get along with them. Luckily, I ended up having AMAZING roommates, and they ended up being my best friends at camp. Sure, I made friends outside of my dorm, but I chose to put myself out there, and the effort I put out was the effort I received back. Friends don't just come automatically -- you have to work for them.
6. I AM NOT looking forward to spouts of loneliness.
Though making new friends and having a clean slate is exciting, you can sometimes feel trapped because you're unable to delve out your whole self to your new peers immediately, leaving you to feel alone with parts of yourself that only you know about. For instance, you were able to stay up with your best friend back home until the wee hours of the morning laughing about anything because you both knew each other so well. You had your mom there to predict what you were going to do before you did it because she knew you so well. You had that one teacher you had an amazing relationship with and could always go to about anything because he or she knew you so well.
Now you have new friends, and they don't know everything about you yet, and you don't know everything about them yet. Everything comes out in bits and pieces, and your new friends won't always know what you like and don't like, leaving you to feel like nobody else enjoys what you enjoy. You feel like you're there but nobody sees you.
It's going to be weird having a "fresh start." Everything may be new on the surface, but you're still there underneath, and you just have to learn how to let "you" out.
College, like most things, is what you make it. What are some of your college expectations versus realities?
