hi everyone! summer is now in full swing and i am more than officially done with my first year of college. it seems absolutely crazy that the year went by so fast. on one hand it seems just like yesterday that i moved in, and on the other it feels like this past year was one of the longest in my life. either way, i want to do a recap of my first year in college and kind of give some overall advice on how to thrive during your first year, or really any year of college you're in!
before i started college, i was super stoked. i was finally going to have the freedom to be who i wanted to be and i was super excited to be going to school in a beautiful city studying biology at one of the best research universities in the world. however, during my first quarter i hit some road blocks that i was not at all expecting. one major one was homesickness. i moved from an average suburb forty minutes outside downtown la to a major california city, so i was not expecting to be homesick at all. but it happened, and at the time i thought i was the only one, but i definitely wasn't. just day to day life was really hard and i went home almost every weekend, which did not help the situation at all. if you find yourself in this situation next year at college, i can't stress enough how important it is not to go home. it's going to seem like the easy fix, but really you'll just be putting a bandaid on it. stay at school, find your place, have fun. before you know it you'll feel like you've found your new home.
another thing i personally had to suffer through at the beginning of the year was anxiety. anxiety wasn't really a big problem for me before i started college, but i think starting the next chapter in my life and suddenly being independent caused it to become a problem. when i first noticed the problem i didn't want to deal with it, i didn't want to talk about it, and i most definitely didn't want to see a psychologist about it. i had the idea in my head that talking to a psychologist meant there was something wrong with you. but i finally decided to talk to someone, and with time i noticed my anxiety becoming less and less of a factor in my life. the only way i got better was by talking to someone. there's this stigma around mental health that prevents so many people from taking that step and getting help. nevertheless, i'm here to tell you that if you ever have any mental health issues the best thing you can do is talk to someone. taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and it's time we all stopped giving it a negative connotation. don't ever think there's something wrong with you. we all go through rough patches, but it's the way we get through them that make some stronger than others. choose to be strong.
one last difficulty that i found myself facing was academics. i thought i was at least somewhat smart in high school, then i started college. the classes were hard, and exams were even harder. i was no longer at the top of my class, and i most definitely wasn't getting A's on everything. it was like a slap in the face; i'd never really struggled with school, and all of a sudden here i was barley making it. if this happens to you, don't worry. a lot of people are feeling the same way. just try your best and realize that no one expects you to get straight A's in college. one thing that i would say though is to push yourself a little harder even if everything is so much harder. you'll make it, but you're going to have to put in a little more effort than you did in high school.
through it all, i had an amazing first year of college. i experienced things i've never experienced before and i made memories that i will never forget. there's so much more i can talk about (i didn't even get to the social aspect of college), but i just wanted to give an overview of the main parts of my first year experience. good luck with everything if you're starting college this upcoming year! xo shawndiz
another thing i personally had to suffer through at the beginning of the year was anxiety. anxiety wasn't really a big problem for me before i started college, but i think starting the next chapter in my life and suddenly being independent caused it to become a problem. when i first noticed the problem i didn't want to deal with it, i didn't want to talk about it, and i most definitely didn't want to see a psychologist about it. i had the idea in my head that talking to a psychologist meant there was something wrong with you. but i finally decided to talk to someone, and with time i noticed my anxiety becoming less and less of a factor in my life. the only way i got better was by talking to someone. there's this stigma around mental health that prevents so many people from taking that step and getting help. nevertheless, i'm here to tell you that if you ever have any mental health issues the best thing you can do is talk to someone. taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and it's time we all stopped giving it a negative connotation. don't ever think there's something wrong with you. we all go through rough patches, but it's the way we get through them that make some stronger than others. choose to be strong.
one last difficulty that i found myself facing was academics. i thought i was at least somewhat smart in high school, then i started college. the classes were hard, and exams were even harder. i was no longer at the top of my class, and i most definitely wasn't getting A's on everything. it was like a slap in the face; i'd never really struggled with school, and all of a sudden here i was barley making it. if this happens to you, don't worry. a lot of people are feeling the same way. just try your best and realize that no one expects you to get straight A's in college. one thing that i would say though is to push yourself a little harder even if everything is so much harder. you'll make it, but you're going to have to put in a little more effort than you did in high school.
through it all, i had an amazing first year of college. i experienced things i've never experienced before and i made memories that i will never forget. there's so much more i can talk about (i didn't even get to the social aspect of college), but i just wanted to give an overview of the main parts of my first year experience. good luck with everything if you're starting college this upcoming year! xo shawndiz