As I go forth in my college career, I find myself reflecting on my experiences when I was a first-year college student. There is much to learn and share, but I would just like to preface that my personal experience and learning lessons do not mean that everyone too will experience the same as me. I hope to document my thoughts and reflections for not only my future self but also for possible incoming freshmen that are wanting some support.
I want to begin by saying that whatever expectations you may have of college, I recommend that you erase those from your mind. I say this because expectations can be such a dangerous matter to let sit in one’s mind and corrupt the experiences that you may be presented with because College is not what you expected or College did not live up to your expectations. This mentality leads to a dangerous path of comparing your experiences with other people’s when in reality everyone is different and in college to create their own lives for themselves.
I came to college believing that it was going to be like the TikTok or Youtube videos that I had been watching. I quickly realized that people only like to show romanticized versions of their lives, especially the fun adventurous ones in college. So it came as a shock to me that I was not out every weekend having the time of my life making millions of friends when I did not even know if that was the life I wanted for myself. And when I got to college and started comparing my first-year experiences to others, it led me down a painful path thinking that I was “behind in life” because my experiences were not the same as others. I had to accept that I was doing my best to handle all the changes my life was going through and accept that there is no time stamp on life experiences.
My time here at college has taught me incredible lessons about the kind of person I am and whom I want to be in the future. I learned how to prioritize certain matters in my life to keep myself happy. I learned how to make my own decisions about what I want in life. I learned and am still learning how to balance academics and social life, and how to be more compassionate towards people. I believe it is better to make your own story with your own college experiences rather than trying to live up to someone else’s. College is going to be different for everyone. You are going to have to deal with a lot of changes happening in your academic and personal life, but it is important to keep in mind that those changes are good matters that will help you grow into a person capable of managing life’s struggles. Most importantly, I want you to know that whenever you have thoughts of giving up like I did almost every time before midterms or finals, you are not alone, almost everyone in college experiences stress during those times. I encourage you to talk to people about what you are going through, have a mentor that has previously experienced some of the struggles that you are going through, and don’t give up when life in college gets hard because college has so many rewards and positive things to look forward to.
Looking back at my experiences during my first year at UCI, I can see all the matters that I have accomplished and the progress I have made and I am proud of myself for that. The transition of leaving home and my family and finding my place at UCI was not an easy thing to do, but looking back I would not change anything. Everything I have gone through has made me a stronger person and prepared me a little more for the rest of my college career. Not only did I pass my classes but I was also able to manage my academic and social life with friends and clubs. Even though I got rejected from a few opportunities, I was able to secure two on-campus jobs that I am excited to start next fall. I was also able to find a great community in the on-campus organizations that I have joined. All in all, I am blessed to have the experience of leaving home for college and grateful for the journey that my first year of college has been.
If you can start your college journey, I hope this article will provide you with a little bit more insight into a strong mentality to have as you start your journey, help you feel supported through the good times and bad times, and also help you feel excited for all the wonderful changes that college will bring.