When we're in high school, we all seem to have this image of what we think college is like in our heads. I hate to be the one to say it, but that idea is probably wrong. I was also a victim to the false idea of what we all thought college life was like. It is not, by any means, sunshine and rainbows as it is sometimes portrayed, but hey, it's still the next step in our lives to getting a decent career in the future.
Many people think that college is all about partying, late nights with friends, hookups, and just not taking academics seriously. At least for me, that wasn't the case at all. College is more like that feeling of dread you have before a really big test, but it's all the time.
When it came time during my senior year of high school to pick a college, I wasn't necessarily ready. I actually thought that I would be going to a school an hour and a half away from me for something in the medical field at the time. Then I was introduced to the archery coach from where I am at now and gave the school a visit. This school is six hours from me, and I knew that if I came here that it definitely wasn't going to be easy. I then committed to this school and was then offered a full ride to one of Penn State's satellite campuses. I still think that was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, it was either I could shoot at the college level as a collegiate athlete or go to school for free. In the end, I picked the collegiate athlete route. I wanted to further my archery career, and I knew that if I stayed home that I wouldn't be able to do that or be able to live alone.
Now, here's what they don't tell you when you move out and go to college:
-College life is very noisy and loud. Just living everyday life in college is loud because you live in a building with around 250 other people, which could be more depending on where you go. You don't realize just how loud college life is until you go home and sit where it's quiet for the first time.
-Nobody warns you for just how awful the laundry situation is at college. I live in a building with about 250 people, and we have 5 washers and 5 dryers. The fight to get your laundry done could probably be compared to the Hunger Games. Not to mention if you forget about your clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes you will come back to your stuff on a nearby table or just thrown out of the dryer in general. It's really quite annoying.
-Prioritize yourself. Make sure that you're getting enough sleep so that you can focus in your classes the next day. Make sure that you are eating enough and fueling your body because it is easy to forget to do these things when you are so busy.
-The workload really isn't a joke. I know we all see jokes about how the homework in college is a lot, but I promise, it really is a lot. Now, maybe that's because I'm a double major with two minors but I am constantly swamped with homework. I think that a lot of college students are stereotyped as being lazy, and don't get me wrong some are, but a lot of us are just burnt out.
I think that my advice to anyone coming into college or even if you're already in college would be to focus on your schoolwork. Focus on getting through each semester and keeping your grades up. I promise that the parties aren't worth what you're paying for a college education. If I can do it, anyone can do it and always believe in yourself.
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