5 Things People Think About College That Are Completely False
1. “It’s just like high school!”
No. Wrong. Absolutely not. Anyone who has made the jump from high school to college can tell you that’s exactly what it is: a jump. You can kiss the pep rallies, sweet sixteen parties, and the nerds in your math class goodbye because college is a whole new ballgame. It’s whatever you want it to be, and there’s something extremely liberating about meeting thousands of new people after going to school with the same two hundred people for years.
2. “Clubs and other campus-run organizations are lame.”
Whoever decided to say this one probably didn’t have that much going for them, I’m sure. Honestly, stuff on campus is pretty great. There’s usually something for everyone, and any kind of involvement is a sweet addition to the good ol’ resume (yes, you need a resume. Yes, you need something new to put on it). Do yourself a favor and don’t listen to the guy who thinks clubs are lame. Just try it; chances are you’ll do some pretty cool stuff and meet some pretty cool people at the same time.
3. “You and your roommate need to be best friends.”
This one’s a toss-up but I felt the need to include it because of its ability to hit both extremes. College is full of making friends, some of which you’ll live with, others you won’t. I’ve had my fair share of the ups and downs in roomie-isms and trust me, it is not a cake walk trying to share a room with a stranger… or with someone you met online… or with that “friend” from high school who was in your history class and you guys decided it was better to live together than to go into the random selection pool. It’s just not easy. If you become best friends, awesome! Be thankful you’ve hit the jackpot. If you don’t become best friends, don’t sweat it. No harm in just coexisting to get by, sometimes it’s even preferable.
4. “Huge lecture halls are scary and intimidating and I could never learn in that environment.”
Here’s where I teach you guys a little thing about perspective. If you go into a 500-person lecture hall, which I admit is pretty large, and you sit in the very back row, you’re going to get distracted. There are 480 people ahead of you with Facebook up on their computer screens, whispering to their friends, and all-around making it hard for you to pay attention to that little man down front talking about biology. But if you sit in the front half of the class? Not bad at all! My go-to move is to set up shop around the sixth row of a big lecture hall. It’s close enough to be able to focus without the distractions behind me, but I won’t smell the professor’s breath anytime soon.
5. “Being sober isn’t fun.”
This is probably another classy quote from that Mr. Nobody who doesn’t like clubs and organized events. I can’t say I haven’t had my fair share of drunken nights stumbling home with my roommate confessing our love for one other, but then again, we do that sober too. We’ve had some of our best days cuddled up on the couch our comfiest blankets, Mario Kart, and some form of takeout. There’s no shame in actually remembering your weekend, kids. It’s actually pretty fun.