Not Always Fun and Games

All throughout this blog, I mention how great college is.  It is, but it can also be very stressful.  There are days when you just want to curl into a ball and go home.  There certainly have been many times like that for me throughout this semester.  However, as my first semester is coming to a close, I can say that the past four months have been some of the best of my life.  It takes some difficult decisions to get to where to you wan to be, but it is worth it in the end.  In this post, I have some tips to help you prepare for what college is really like.

1. The workload is a lot different than high school.
• The first week of classes is commonly called "syllabus week." This is the best and worst week of the semester, because it is usually the easiest, but you see all the work that is due throughout the semester.  It can be very stressful seeing it all at once.  It usually gets better as you start doing the work, but it is still so much more than you can imagine right now. 
2. It will be stressful.
• The best thing I can say about this is to just expect it.  Know how to deal with stress and what works to help calm you down.  There will be late nights and a great lack of sleep, and that automatically takes a toll on someone's body.  If you add homework into that equation, it can end up being a disaster at times.  
3. Learn how to study.
• Throughout my whole life, I was one of those students that never had to study for anything.  Before I left for college, my parents continually told me that I can not start studying the night before a test if I want to do well.  This is one of the things that they were completely correct about.  Know how to study before you come to college, so that you don't have to risk failing your first tests trying to figure it out.  

Above all these tips I just said, college is fun.  However, you have to know how to put that fun aside and manage your time so that you can get work done.  The ultimate goal out of these four years is to earn a degree.  It is still school, so have fun, but also be smart.