As a graduating senior, I have the responsibility to be honest–college will not always feel like “the best four years of your life.” As amazing as this experience can be, there are also going to be some pretty low moments.
Good news: you’re not alone. While it’s almost impossible to prevent most of these “canon events,” you can change how you choose to react to them.
The freshman year friend group
The very beginning of freshman year is when everyone is looking for new friends. No one wants to navigate this overwhelming experience alone. Lots of freshmen tend to form giant friend groups right away with a bunch of the first people they meet. This is definitely fun, but don’t let it stop you from branching out beyond them. And if time goes on, and you realize that the group isn’t actually what you’re looking for after all, don’t stress about “ending” those friendships. While it’s important to put yourself out there right away and meet as many new faces as you can; there are over 60,000 students at OSU–how likely is it that you’ll meet your best friends on the first day?
EVIL situationships
Whether you’re looking for a serious relationship or not, prepare yourself to experience the most evil, brain chemistry-altering situationship at some point throughout your time in undergrad (maybe even more than one, if you’re extra unlucky). You’ll get treated like the love of their life one day, then you’ll be ghosted the next. It might last a few weeks, or it might last over a year (ouch).
After religiously checking snap scores and avoiding specific dining halls, eventually, the hurt goes away. Dating can be a complicated, messy, painful journey, but instead of being discouraged by the times it goes wrong, remember that learning what you don’t want is just as important as learning what you do want. The right person is out there, and even though the path to them might be a little rocky sometimes, you’ll learn how to better recognize when you’ve found them.
roommate horror stories
Living with others is hard. Even though OSU has a system for determining if students will room well together, it doesn’t always work out. There might be little things, like maybe they snore, or bigger things, like being the reason the campus police are in your dorm at 3 a.m. (long story). No matter how severe your “horror stories” might be, living with others in college is the best way to learn what type of roommates you want to have, and the type of roommate you need to be moving forward. Having these difficult conversations and interactions now will help you learn how to navigate the ones you’ll have in the future.
next-level hangxiety
As awesome as it would be to go out on the weekends, drink the acceptable amount, and act exactly how you want to present yourself, it’s unfortunately just not going to happen all of the time. You might have one too many shots and say something you shouldn’t have said, text someone you shouldn’t have texted, or done something you wouldn’t have done otherwise. Waking up the next morning with a headache and what feels like the deepest regret you’ll ever feel will make you never want to go out again.
In the moment, you’ll feel like you’ve embarrassed yourself beyond repair, and you’ll never be able to live it down. But then classes will start again on Monday, and by the next weekend, no one will remember it even happened.
Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone embarrasses themselves. It’s likely that you’ll have to take care of all of your friends at some point. In college, we’re all learning our limits. When you reach them, shake it off and remember for next time. Don’t be the friend who causes trouble every time you go out, but don’t let it get you down if it happens every once in a while.
failing
As someone who graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA, failing my first quiz during my second semester of freshman year was devastating for me. I stormed into my dorm and sobbed for at least an hour, convincing myself that I wasn’t as smart as I always thought I was.
But then, when it came time for our final exam, I studied more than I ever have, and ended up earning the best grade in the class. When I got that first quiz grade back, I felt like a failure, but my overall grade ended up being fine. Now it’s just a funny story.
College classes are so different from high school. They can be more difficult and demanding, and they require a lot more self-motivation to succeed. It’s an adjustment that might take some time to master, but if you give yourself the grace to make mistakes, you’ll get the hang of it.
losing high school friendships
When you’ve been friends with the same people since elementary school, it’s hard to believe that you’ll ever live your life without them. After being with them through braces and prom, it doesn’t seem like college is something that could break you apart. While it doesn’t always happen, it can hurt when it does.
College will change you in ways you never could have expected. Just because someone fits in your life for years doesn’t mean they’ll have a place throughout every phase. It can be hard to let go of friends you’ve known for so long, but it doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the time you had together.
realizing you’ve grown up
At some point during these four years, you’re going to be walking into a career fair with confidence, or hanging out with someone new, or doing something you were always too scared to do, and notice that you’ve changed. It’ll be bittersweet to realize that you’re not the nervous freshman anymore, but it’ll also be a hopeful moment to reflect on how much you’ve grown and how much potential you still have.