College Is Supposed To Be Scary

Graduating high school a few months ago had to be one of my greatest moments of 2016. I reached a milestone, but I never really spoke about my unease with going to college during the first few weeks of the summer. I’m a person that absolutely hates change. It scares me to know that I won’t always live life at my normal routine because I enjoy being around familiar places, people, sounds, and even smells. The thought of College came as something that I simply was not ready to take on. Over the course of June and July my mom was making me take on new responsibilities. I started scheduling my own doctors and dentist appointments, getting up early in the morning to buy groceries, and even had to handle a traffic violation…yes… all on my own. Even though these things were very minor it led to a realization. I realized that I actually was growing up and things were going to change whether I liked it or not. I was nervous, scared, anxious, and had no clue what to expect. My friends and I were going to be apart after years of being together, I was not going to see my family’s faces everyday, and the workload that I was used to was going to change. Everything began to come at full force. I felt like I was the only one going through this because everyone around me seemed so excited to move on. At this time college was nothing more than a symbol of change that I did not want.

With the first semester quickly approaching, I had to overcome my fears and discover ways to cope with it. I started by tackling my biggest issue… the workload. I had many expectations for my first year of college and failing was not an option. I knew that I wanted to work, join multiple clubs, and still be able to get my assignments done. One night I sat down and created a plan. The first thing that I listed was what I was trying to accomplish within the first and second semester. I listed things that were important to me and not as important. First I had a bullet point for my assignments. Next, I wrote down clubs and organizations that I was interested in. After that I included a space for my work schedule, then a section for anything else that would come up. The key was prioritizing and figuring out what was important and not as important. I even purchased a planner because I knew this would help me in planning out my week. This gave me a clear understanding of everything that would be going on. Everything was mapped out. It made my mind feel less cluttered because I could see everything physically.

I am the type of person that likes to know when and how everything is going to be done. I want to know how certain professors are in class, how to get to class, how the students are, etc. There are so many ways to fully understand everything dealing with your school. I used two things, orientation and social media. Social media makes the world so small. For example, on Twitter you can type in a keyword or your school name and interact with different students from your school. You could even end up making a couple of friends. Going to orientation made things easier because I had a chance to see how my school works. I learned about various things that were important for me to know. I even got to finalize things dealing with financial aid, housing, and admissions. Going on a college campus tour is also beneficial. It helps you get a feel of the school and students. This can help in easing your nerves and making a solid plan for the upcoming semester.

Going to college meant leaving the people I’ve been with for years. I was all of a sudden supposed to pack my things and go after 18 years of memories with my family and hilarious moments with my friends. At this time all I imagined was someone yelling, “hey your 18 years are up go figure out life!” Somehow I managed to tell myself that I wasn’t going to see either of these people for months, which of course, was not true. After all I was only an hour away! I realized that I could come home every time I started to really miss my family. I could always call, text, and FaceTime them. There are so many ways to communicate with people. There are different apps that allow you to video call and message and a lot of them are free. My friends and I are in a group message so we’re constantly updating each other on how school is going and what we’re up to. It’s almost like we’re sitting around and having a face-to-face conversation.

The summer’s ended and I’m living the college life. On the first day of class I decided to make conversation and ask a few people about their summer. I asked how they felt transitioning from high school to college and I found that I actually had a lot in common with the few students I spoke to. I realized that it is okay to be panicked and worried because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. You are supposed to feel all those different mixed emotions and feel unprepared, but it’s up to you to overcome it and choose the way you overcome it. It’s a part of life. Find your balance and what works for you. Everything is not changing, instead everything is being put on a higher level. So, don’t stress yourself out. That won’t help anything. Still live life, prioritize, get it done, and have fun. A fear of college will only diminish your chances of being successful. Take on your semester with grace and confidence. After all, the only thing stopping us from being great is the fear of what it takes to be great.

Aicha Diallo is a freshman student majoring in Political Science. Aicha has been writing stories, poems, and blogging since she was 9 years old. You can find more from Aicha on Instagram (@missaichajolie) or Twitter (@missaichajolie).