Dear high school senior me,
I know what you probably think college will be like.
You’ve seen social media, movies, and TV shows romanticizing college: late-night
adventures, football games, parties, and perfect dorm rooms.
Romanticizing college life doesn’t mean having a perfect college life.
College life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. You may have 8 a.m. classes, homesickness,
difficult assignments, or days when you don’t want to leave your dorm, let alone your bed.
That’s okay!
Romanticizing college life doesn’t mean ignoring the bad days.
“The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising.
Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of
gratitude.” – Maya Angelou
Romanticizing is a trend where people treat their everyday lives like a beautiful story.
But that doesn’t mean you ignore your bad days or think you won’t have them at all.
Let yourself have bad days. You can find small ways to romanticize a bad day, like journaling after a long, hard day. What made my day so bad? What can I do tomorrow to make tomorrow better?
How do I romanticize my college life at BSU?
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others.
Social media makes it seem like in college you will make ten best friends, find the perfect relationship, and have a perfect social life. Meanwhile, you’re in your dorm wondering, “What’s the move?” “Am I doing enough?”Everyone’s college experience is different, and no experience is automatically better than another. Everyone has their own path.
Make Parts of Bowie State University Meaningful.
Take random trips around Bowie, sit outside and people-watch, study in the library, go to campus events!
You don’t have to wait for a big event to make memories. If you stop waiting for life to happen to you, you will be able to romanticize the college experience.
Document the Little Things.
Keep a scrapbook. Start a junk journal. Take pictures!
Years from now, you won’t remember who sat next to you in your history class or who
your math professor was. You will remember how you felt.
So, remember:
Let yourself have bad days.
Romanticizing your life doesn’t mean ignoring the hard parts; it means finding one small thing that makes a hard day easier.
Love, your future self,