Adjust Your Expectations of College
Social media, TV, movies, (even parents) all glorify college and how fun it will be.
There’s no way it can live up to that hype.
You’re in for a big let down when you get there find yourself studying in the library instead hanging out at endless parties.
Or hanging out at endless parties and find there are actual consequences.
College is just life somewhere else with all the same cool complexities.
College is life in a different container.
The container can be a trashcan or a silver chalice. You get to pick.
But it’s still just a container.
Try this:
Make a list of everything wonderful you think college will be.
Then next to that write down where you got that idea. Movie, TV, social media, friends, parents…
Then, keep in mind that all of those sources have a reason they may inflate how great college is.
All those reasons boil down to this:
It makes the story exciting.
Can college be awesome?
Definitely
- Freedom
- Like minded people
- Meet different types of people
- In-depth learning
But just like high school isn’t “Gossip Girl”, college isn’t “Pitch Perfect”.
If you can, try visiting a college for a weekend.
Talk to the students.
Ask them the best thing about college and the worst.
That’s the whole picture.