The Anxiety and Excitement of Starting College

Starting college comes with a lot of feelings. You’re wondering how to keep in touch with friends and if you will. You’re probably getting a little teary-eyed at the thought of leaving your friends and family (although you’d never let your mom know). And then your overall feelings are excitement and anxiety. There’s a lot of feelings going on and you’re probably wondering how to deal. The key is to not let any of those feelings overwhelm you and your new adventure.

First of all, you’re going to be a little homesick. Whether you’re an hour away or in another country, you’re going to experience this. Don’t think that you need to pack up and leave college the first week this happens. It takes a while to get into the swing of things, which means it takes a while to get used to college living, being away from family, and everything that goes along with it. Don’t give up right at the beginning. Get in the swing of college classes, make friends, explore the area around your college, and make yourself feel at home. Again, don’t automatically throw in the towel – homesickness is a normal feeling.

College is going to be a lot different from High School – this is good. It’s going to be a change. You may be a little upset and stressed out at first, especially when your homework assignments start rolling in and you don’t have assigned free periods to work on homework and study, but as you go through college, you’ll start to enjoy the experience and enjoy the fact that it’s different. The key here is to not start thinking “What did I get myself into?!” The key here is to not wonder if it would be different elsewhere so you can have something more like High School. Because it’s not. There will obviously be differences between colleges, but free periods, teachers that remind you every day that something is due and accept late assignments, and more relaxed homework assignments are High School things. Don’t start thinking you need to transfer or leave altogether. You’ll get used to it and then really appreciate the differences, trust us.

Your first semester is going to be a little rough. There’s no way around it. This is especially when you don’t want to throw in the towel. You’re getting used to a lot of different things at once. It’s normal to have a rough first semester. Don’t let that be your picture of how the rest of college is going to be. Most importantly, enjoy yourself. Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed by being away and the differences with college. Explore your area, make friends, seize the day.