Junior year of high school is a big year, academically and mentally. The stress of making perfect grades and finding the perfect college can become super overwhelming. Parents can also add to this stress since they also want you to find the perfect college, not only for your benefit but, also, so they can brag about it to their friends. Your focus centers around the idea of college. You start to envision escaping your parents’ rules, finding new friends, having a good time, exploring new possibilities, and earning a degree for a future career. At college, you can finally become an adult. So, what is college really like?

My cousin went to college at Texas Tech and was a cheerleader for about two years. She had a great experience and wishes that she could do it again. Every person that I have talked to mentions how much they loved college and how it was so much fun. People tend to think fondly of their college experience, and may forget about their rocky first week, first month, first semester, or first year.

A newspaper article, “The Odyssey: What Really Happens When You Go To College”, gives us the honest truth about college, stating, “freshman year of college is hard. It’s really hard” (Tilstra). But, in the beginning, “when you first move out of your house and into your dorm, it’s all okay” (Tilstra). College newcomers can live under an illusion of comfort and freedom. But, eventually, when the excitement wears off, the loneliness and realness of a new life set in. This can be overwhelming for many students, to face adulthood in such a direct and rapid way.  

But, college can become much easier to deal with, through time, friendships, and experience. Eventually, you begin to change as a person, and actually want to stay at college because you “realize that it is less painful returning after weekends at home” (Tilstra), or find yourself actually wanting to return to college, instead of clinging onto an old life. Some days, “you find yourself enjoying the freedom of walking around the city alone, where you feel more yourself with your college friends”(Tilstra). People can begin to enjoy their free time and becoming an adult as they become more comfortable.

Even though there may be some hard times in the beginning of your college journey, college can be a truly amazing experience! People can discover who they are and mature. College serves as our transition into adulthood. From there, we enter the big world. Which, I am sure just like college, will take some getting used to. But, if you can adjust to college, then you will surely be able to adjust to the real world.

Source: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-really-happens-when-you-go-to-college