A First Year’s Reflection: What They Don’t Tell You About College

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Dear Reader, 

Having almost one year of college under my belt, I have realized that your experience is only what you make of it. Part of the responsibility that comes with college is that you have the ability to decide and control the type of experience you take away. Not only is it a physical place, but college is a stage of experimentation, independence, and newfound responsibility in one’s life. 

Responsibility means taking on new roles, which can be overwhelming for some people. The college life you choose to live should be based on what you and your choices alone, meaning that on top of school, a new environment, and living away from home, you need to learn to check in with yourself and make sure you’re okay before getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of college life. 

I don’t think I had any expectations coming into college, I  looked at it as a new experience that will further my education and help me grow as a person. Some people already know what they want out of college, but I think that the important thing is to keep your mind open to the unexpected. Approaching college with an open mind means that you are free to make decisions that make you feel good about yourself and the situations you enter, because college ultimately comes down to your comfort levels and how you grew up. 

In college one of the biggest lessons and challenges is learning that other people have different lifestyles than you. Based on how you grew up, what your values are, and what you’re comfortable with determining how you will interact with others in college. And don’t worry about new experiences that push you out of your comfort zone. Those will come naturally; they’re part of the college experience. 

I know what you’re probably thinking; I’m going to be independent and have a totally different experience than what I had growing up. What people usually think is that as soon as college starts that you have to be totally independent. Depending on the type of person you are, you will go through different levels of independence. Like everything else, independence is something that grows into your living habits, so it’s more than okay to take it at your own pace. 

College is a stage rather than a place and most of it is unknown, so you will revert to the familiar values instilled in you when you were little. Not to say that you will stop growing, you will definitely grow, but instead of learning about life as a whole, you will build upon your core values while learning about yourself and how you want to live it going forward. The author of hausarbeit schreiben lassen helped with the design of the text.

Good luck with everything.

Best, 

Marjhan Vasseghi