This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mizzou chapter.
When I was 15, I was pretty adamant about staying in New York City for college. I loved NYC to death, still do, and I never ever wanted to leave. However, I soon found out that my options were limited when it came to journalism, and I started to expand my horizons. It came down to Temple and Mizzou. Temple was in Philly, a mere 10 dollar ride home. But, if I went, I would have to study business. When I visited and saw that the campus was unsightly and the biggest lawn they had was a patch of grass smaller than my backyard, I was extremely unimpressed. The financial aid given to me being pitiful was a cherry on top of a big “HELL NO.” I decided to visit Mizzou. It was 800 miles away from home and not my dream. But I quickly changed my tune when I saw the campus. A beautiful, expansive quad with towering columns, a rec center that doubled as a day spa, clean and cute dorms, and huge college football stadium. My friends back home were stunned that this place was so nice and I was super excited to begin what I called my “television” college experience, and for the most part it’s been just that, except for a few key details.
Fail No. 1: Homecoming
While my friends were taking pictures with their favorite music artists and attending great concerts at their school stadiums, I was flipping a coin to decide which bar I would go to that night. For a school that invented homecoming, the fanfare wasn’t as large as I thought. The game was really fun, though!
Fail No. 2: Roommates
I was super excited to meet my suitemates and thought we would be the best of friends. While we all do share a pretty good connection, I see them more outside the suite than inside the suite. And I think I can speak for everyone when I say that a disagreement over who’s turn it is to clean the bathroom or clutter permeating one person’s side of the room is a big recipe for resentment and hurt feelings.
Fail No. 3: Having It All
During May and June students are running, not walking, to get to college. This brief period of rejecting having our bills paid, taking free food for granted, and not appreciating our lack of real responsibility can qualify as temporary insanity. As we soon find out, college is some tough sh*t. We have to come to terms with the “ors” of life. We can go out and socialize or stay in and study, spend money on a ticket to a game or groceries for the week, fit work, socializing, classes, studying into our daily schedules or sleep a full night. Learning balance is one of the biggest lessons we learn at college and having it all definitely isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
Fail No. 4: Leisure Time
The biggest disappointment of all. When I first visited Mizzou, it took me a while to be sold on the school as a whole because the distance thing was still messing with me. But, when I laid my eyes on that lazy river, complete with a whirlpool, a jacuzzi, and a sauna; I was ready to book all my flights in advance. Little did I know that my days would be riddled with hours of homework, organization participation, studying, and crying at my misfortune of being in College Algebra for a second time, to have time to take a dip at the state-of-the-art pool.
All in all, college has come with its fair share of ups and downs. But what fun is it without a little “live and learn?”
