Here’s a scenario: wide-eyed and fresh out of their parents’ backseat, a brand new college freshman is moved into their dorm, decked out in their school colors and ready to have the best and most exciting year of their life.
Freshman year of college is full of hopes and expectations, as are most new and unknown experiences. Most students spend the entirety of their high school careers daydreaming about where they might go to college, and once senior year solidifies, their plans they begin counting down the days till they can start living their “best life.” All of post-senior year summer is likely spent posting Match.com-esque profiles of yourself on your college’s Facebook group in search of your soulmate roommate, planning out your dorm room design scheme and channeling your inner HGTV, or just general whining about getting out of your boring old hometown.
While the time before college is a thrilling, confusing mess of emotions, it is also the time that primes you for your mindset going into freshman year. Being excited and open to everything as you start college is key to succeeding—but when does it lead to heartbreaking disappointment?
Let’s revisit the scenario: A naïve newbie on their first day. They’re confident that “best life” is well on its way. They’ve already had a dining hall date with their new roommate (where they both went for the pineapple pizza—match made in heaven? I think yes). They didn’t even get lost going to any of their classes (plus one professor won’t even take attendance for the semester) and at least two people complimented them on their classic school t-shirt—it was the cheapest one at the bookstore.
It seems like everything they had hoped for this year is becoming a reality, and they’re destined to have a fairly perfect life from here on out. High school was a misery, but now it’s college—and nothing ever goes wrong when you’re on your own, surrounded by strangers and have a full schedule on your plate. Right?
This streak of luck and feeling of dreams come true can last for a while before a reality check comes along and you remember that not everything is going to work out, not every day is going to be your best, and not all of your lofty expectations are going to be met.
Courtesy: Odyssey
What does this hopeful freshman look like about a week later? Well, they might’ve failed their first college-level examination, underestimating the level of difficulty that they weren’t used to back in high school. Maybe they’ve discovered some of their roommate’s quirks that weren’t so obvious during that first dining hall date. Perhaps they’ve realized that all of those “friends” they made on the first day of classes aren’t going to be reminiscent of their high school squad. At the end of the day, they find themselves trudging back to their dorm room feeling overwhelmed, lonely and really, really disappointed.
By no means is it the end of the world if you feel a sense of lost hope or genuine disappointment because everyone goes through this very same process. Prospective students walk onto their college campuses for the first time every year and see nothing but opportunity and greatness. And all of those feelings are typically validated by your best freshman year memories, but they can also be crushed just as easily. And when they are crushed, it leaves innocent freshmen feeling like they’ve been tricked into believing their life was going to be fantastic when it’s simply skimming on subpar.
The best part about starting your first year of college is getting to throw yourself into the unknown and hoping for the best. And although it’s important to start off with genuine excitement and an unhealthy amount of optimism, it is also important to note during some of the harder moments that this year is probably not going to go perfectly. But ultimately, it’s all about using this transitional time as a stepping stone to the true best years of your life.