Remember the summer before you started college? Everyone was telling you how amazing the next 4 years were going to be- and of course you believed them. Walking around Bed Bath and Beyond, picking out everything for your new home; you really couldn’t be more excited. Then the big move-in day came and you were so eager to meet your new lifelong BFFs?
Personally, my college experience (so far at least) hasn’t been as simple as everyone makes it out to be. If I’m being totally honest, I don’t love college. It’s a really hard thing to say out loud…embarrassing almost, because everyone else is seemingly loving their college life. And when any of my relatives ask me about school, without thinking I just respond with a little white lie, knowing that it’ll make it easier.
I guess I should admit, I’m probably not your average college student. After coming to school after a life-changing gap year, I wasn’t a typical freshman. I felt lost in a sea of people who just wanted to go crazy and go to frat parties, this being something that I didn’t really have much interest in. I kept telling myself that I just needed to give it time and soon enough I’d fit in. But come my second semester freshman year that wasn’t the case. I kept thinking to myself that maybe I was doing something wrong and that’s why I didn’t absolutely love college.
Well, fast forward a year and now here we are. Almost finished with my second semester of sophomore year and I have definitely learned my fair share of tricks to make college as positive as possible, even if it’s not “the best 4 years of your life“.
Get Involved on Campus
People always tell you to get involved, but what does that actually mean? I decided that the best way to get involved would be to go out of my comfort zone- try new things and challenge myself- that’s what college is all about right?
First semester freshman year I did join a sorority, which has been a great experience. I still was feeling so lost, so I decided to challenge myself even more. After attending the club fair on campus by myself with my headphones in, I caught the Her Campus table out of the corner of my eye and decided to put my name down. Since joining Her Campus, I’ve really started to come out of my shell a bit more and am really enjoying being a part of something new.
Focus on Your School Work- it will Payoff
I know what you’re thinking. No one wants to do more school work than they already do. Since coming to college, I haven’t really found my “group” and so I do spend a good amount of time trying to chip away at all my work and studying hard. That feeling you get when you see that studying hard actually does payoff is totally worth it. Even if my college social life isn’t the ~greatest~, I do really love what I’m studying, and it always feels good to get that GPA up!
College is all About Exploring
College definitely gets better, and I feel a lot more comfortable at school and going out of my comfort zone to talk to new people. The most important thing to remember is to take college one day at a time, and to not overthink too much! Overthinking will make you go crazy. Just take a deep breath and remember that other people are in the same situation as you! This isn’t one of those movies where your college experience will be perfect, it takes time to get to where you want to be!
My biggest take-away has been that if you’re unhappy or uncomfortable in college, it will get better. You don’t need to love college to enjoy your time there and make it as positive as possible!