The Reality of College or Not?

Freshman year, what a wakeup call it was for some of us students. For most, it was a blessing in disguise. Throw it back to senior year of high school, where everyone headed off to the next level imagining what the great college experience would be like. The classes, the parties and the people all seemed so mysterious.

Sure movies about college gave some of us a vague idea of what it could be like, but life doesn’t always turn out like the movies now does it? A few Western students shared what they thought college would be like and then the reality of it all.  

The Mysterious Unknown

To start, a lot of students coming into Western or college in general, had no idea what it would be like. Taking a blind leap of faith, junior Ariana Nazari, said she had never heard anything about the school before, but after attending the first year of her Western college career, she decided that it was the right match.

“Western is a beautiful place filled with friendly and unique people. This place has become home,” Nazari said. 

Name please…

“I thought that the professors wouldn’t even know your name, but most of my teachers in the smaller classes have put in an effort to know names,” freshman Vivian Boggs said.

Let’s face it, college is a huge place and a lot of the time professors don’t get to know your name if you’re in a lecture hall. However, with Western’s small intimate classrooms there happens to be a lot of one on one time. Depending on your major some professors may even chat you up in between classes.

High School Support System

“I had plenty of friends from high school going here and I felt supported knowing I had them to lean on,” junior Monea Kerr said. “I realized how I fit in at Western through clubs, friends and working on campus.”

While there’s nothing wrong with staying best friends with your pals in high school, it doesn’t hurt to meet new people. College is for branching out and meeting as many people as possible; new friends can be half the fun of attending college. 

Small Fish in a Big Sea

“I knew that college was going to have ten times as many students as my high school and I thought I would get overwhelmed with all the new faces and lectures with hundreds of people,” senior Jack Kelly said.

Walking through campus can get overwhelming at some busy points during the day, but as college goes on, faces become more familiar and some new friends may even pass.

“After a few quarters of college I realized the community is a lot smaller and it’s very easy to make personal relationships,” Kelly said. “Once I got into my major, the class sizes dropped and I was able to have a much closer relationship with my classmates and professors.”

Stereotypes galore!

“Well for Western I expected everyone to be big hipsters and hippies,” junior Stephanie Roloff said. “But there are all kinds of people here and something for every kind of person.”

Yes, Western has gotten a rap for being the hippie school of Washington where people walk around barefoot and protest all day long. In reality there is a wide variety of people here. There are still some hippie folks, but not everyone fits the mold.

Know-it-all Phobia

“Before college, I thought that I would be extremely intimidated by my classes with incredibly smart peers,” senior Leila Frishak said. “I was nervous that people would do much better than me.”

‘College is for smart people’ is also a stereotype that can be off-putting when it comes to starting your freshman year. In a few classes there will realistically be the person who does know all the answers and raises their hand constantly. The majority however, are students who are there to learn just as much as you.

“Turns out, Western students are extremely compassionate. It feels great going to school with supportive faculty and students,” Frishak said. 

Party central

“I thought that every weekend would be a party, and it is for some people, but not for me,” freshman Vivian Boggs said.

While going out every weekend can seem like the ultimate source of fun in college, sometimes taking a night in is much needed. Whether it’s catching up on some homework, binge watching Netflix or hanging out with a few friends, every weekend doesn’t have to be a wild night out.

School can seem overwhelming, scary, crazy, intimidating or any other adjective you can think of. The reality of it all is that college is what you make it! 

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