Most of us spent a good portion of our pre-college lives listening to parents, friends and the media telling us that college will be “the best and worst time of our lives.”
With the start of midterms and the passing of fall break, the freshman class of ASU has now survived the first two months of their college careers. Whether college is shaping up to be the best time of your life or you’re counting down the days to go home, it’s clear that pre-college expectations have not translated into reality.
Each college experience is unique and individual to the person, but after speaking to my new friends at school and the ones who went away to college, it seems there is a universal expectation that the first week of college means you’ll make friends instantly. In reality, it takes time. I barely talk to most of the people I remember meeting during the first week of school, except the occasional wave on the way to class.
Most people go into college expecting to be best friends with their roommate, but ask around, and it’s easy to see that’s not the case at all. Just two months into the semester, I have heard so many horror stories from my friends about having to switch rooms, having belongings thrown at them or waking up to see a random stranger in their rooms, sans roommate.
It’s hard to deny that college is best known for the partying, which can be one of the most anticipated aspects. Students are starting to see the effects of constant partying — it’s a little unrealistic to think you can get up in time for your 7:30 a.m. class after just getting in at 3:30 a.m. on a Wednesday, all while maintaining a good GPA.
I often hear my fellow students talking about feeling homesick (after insisting for most of the semester that they don’t get homesick) and how they just want to go home for their mom’s cooking or go to their old favorite restaurants. It’s so easy to make unhealthy eating choices with all the fast food restaurants around campus that accept M&G; dollars, as well as the unlimited buffet-style dining halls. From my perspective, at least, it’s better to eat berries and oatmeal in my room than be subjected, once again, to the dining hall food.
While college is a skewed version of many people’s expectations, there is no doubt that it is the independence we all needed. Whether you are partying too much or never leave your room, whether you have no idea what you are doing with your life or have it all planned out until death, college is the time to make your own reality and not worry about living up to any predetermined expectations.
Reach the columnist at kassidy.mcdonald@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @kassmcdonald
