College is a time of great learning, and I’m not strictly talking about the stuff your professors teach you in class. When you’re a bright-eyed youth of 18, you think you know everything, but the fact is, nobody knows everything at 18. In fact, most people of that age know very little. That’s why, in addition to all the important theory and history you’re learning in class, you’re also going to learn a number of lessons that have nothing to do with academia. Some will be more difficult than others, but all of them are necessary and help you on your journey towards becoming a functioning adult.
20. Feeling lonely doesn’t necessarily mean you’re alone.
There will be times in college when you’re surrounded by people, but you still feel inexplicably alone. It’s hard to explain why that happens, but you should rest assured that it’s totally normal. You have friends who care about you and family too. Feeling lonely just happens sometimes.
19. Fun often comes at a price.
It’s true there’s no one to tell you you can’t go out to the bars every night, but the price you’ll pay is that your grades will probably suffer.
18. Regrets are real, and you’ll probably have a few.
They say “regrets are just mistakes you don’t learn from,” but the truth is, even if you learn from mistakes you’ve made, that doesn’t make the regret instantly go away. Life isn’t always as simple as those cute clichés.
17. There are tons of people who are way smarter than you are.
Even if you were at the top of your class in high school, you’ll have to come to terms with the fact that lots and lots of your college classmates were probably near the top of their class too. Don’t let it be a blow to your ego. Just because you’re now surrounded by people who are as smart as, or even smarter than you are doesn’t mean you suddenly got any dumber.
16. Your university doesn’t care if you fail all your classes.
If you’re lucky, you’ll have professors and advisors who come to care about you, but the fact is, to your university, you’re just a student ID number and a tuition payment. This isn’t like high school, where if you start to get bad grades, the teacher will stay late to work with you and make sure you pass. If you don’t pass, your university won’t lose any sleep over it.
15. “Summer vacation” isn’t a given.
Once you graduate college, having a few months off every summer is just a fantasy. And even now, it’s up to you to make the most of your summer vacation by making money or taking extra classes when you need to. You’ll soon start to realize just how much of a fantastic luxury summer vacation used to be.
