Navigating life after high school, especially as a former gifted child, is no easy feat. Jumping from a lighter workload to an onslaught of papers, McGraw-Hill Connect assignments (iykyk!), group projects, and exams in your first five minutes of college can make you wonder where that giftedness went. So, in the early stages of college, how do you get over the feeling of not knowing?
My high school was just the run-of-the-mill public school, and it didn’t involve much college preparation besides the occasional dual credit course. The transition to TCU’s rigorous STEM courses humbled me quickly, to say the least. In high school, I had a meltdown if I got a B, and now a B is cause for a celebration. Many college students experience this struggle, especially in their first year or after transferring. So, how does one come to terms with this new, unsettling reality?
I can say this now that I am out of the trenches of my first year, but grades do not define you! It is difficult to keep this in mind and to actually believe it, but having to drop a class is not uncommon. Most employers are not going to care if you have a C on your transcript, had to drop a few classes, or had to retake a class. While it feels like a bad grade in college is the end of the world as you know it, you’ll come to find out that this is not the case.
Not knowing anything is something I felt not just in classes, but also in the social scene. Not joining a sorority left me to my own friendship-making devices, which was extremely scary, but it worked out! Starting college, whether it is in your home state or 1,000 miles away, is very intimidating. Not knowing anyone, finding where your classes are, and figuring out what to do with all of this new free time is a decades-old issue almost all new students face. I found my place with my roommates, in clubs, and through mutual friends. You also end up figuring out where your classes are, but trying to find them before classes start will save you the embarrassment of running in late in front of a bunch of strangers. As for free time, joining clubs, keeping up with events on campus, and saying yes when people invite you to do things work perfectly for filling the space with meaningful experiences!
Leaving the familiarity and stability of your hometown can be scary, and it may seem impossible to settle in, but I am here to tell you that it gets better! Not knowing anyone or anything feels like the end of the world, especially if you graduated high school at the top of your class with a great group of friends. But things will fall into place, whether it is in the first two weeks or if it takes until the last semester of your college journey. As much as it seems like they do, no one knows what they are doing! Even if college isn’t the best four years of your life, you will find your place, and it will become comfortably normal again.