The Truth About College

        It's been a year and a half since I was a mere freshman at UT Tyler, "moving out" from home and experiencing a whole lot of independance. I remember how excited I was. No curfews, you get to eat whatever and whenever you want, and no one telling you to do chores?! Oh yeah, I remember the feeling. It was quite nice wasnt' it? But then the reality of college than the media doesn't emphasize creeps in before you know it...



   




     Don't get me wrong, I have many memories in college that are so enriching and will not be forgotten, but I didnt' expect it to be this hard when I first started college. Aspects that you looked forward to beginning of your college career like no bedtime, some class attendance are not required, and cleaning up when you want to ( if you ever even wanted to), it started to change from excitement to well, for a lack of a better word, a drag!

    Yes, you can stay up as late as you want to, but a majority of that time is to spend studying! Some classes doesn't require attendance and you love that cause you get to sleep in! However, as you take those exams, you realize that you SHOULD have gone to class so you knew the material better. Mom isn't there to tell you to pick up your room or do your laundry , but you see after a couple of weeks of not doing your chores your room resembles a department store after black friday and you're rewearing dirty clothes. Yeah, no on told me any of this, nor did it even cross my mind, cause all I was thinking when I moved out for college was " I.AM.FREE!"

Don't be like this guy 

    So let me tell you what I have learned the past couple years in college, prepare yourself for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. The media portrays college a certain way, and hey, there are the lucky few who had no trouble in school and get through school without any scrapes and bruises. There are the majority of us however, who realize that college is really ,really ,REALLY hard and forces you to make the hardest decisions of your life. Like whether you should take a nap or not? I'm just kidding! But college throws that cold water at your face and wakes you up. College inevetibly turns you into an adult, and make you grow up whether you like it or not.

   The past couple of years had me realize that you can't plan for everything, but mature and grow enough to accept that life is not perfect. I had to learn this myself and it was one of the most brutal and enriching experience I have encoutered.  Stress, changes, and more stress happens.

The college experience might not be what you expected, but make it worth while. You might not finish in 4 years or get that 4.0 and that's ok but just FINISH . You might ultimately dislike school (like how I am right now) but remember the purpose . No matter how long it takes you, finish and work towards your degree to propel you to achieve the ultimate goal.