September – also known as every student’s worst nightmare. After four months of putting your feet up and forgetting nearly every chapter from your physics textbook, it’s time to step up your game and get back to the books. You know this year will be different – or at least that’s what you’re telling yourself – but after enduring over thirteen years of schooling, I’ve learned some things about myself; one being that I have a tendency to lie to myself.
1. “This term will be better.”
It’s the very first day of school and you’ve got your life all neat and organized, wearing a sexy new outfit with your brand new Bentley backpack slung over your shoulder. In those few moments, you feel on top of the world, ready to rock the year. “This term will be better,” you think (and then regret it less than a week down the road).
2. “I will go to sleep early tonight.”
Acing your courses and getting over 8 hours of sleep per night. How hard can it be? With a burst of enthusiasm unheard of for your average college student, you decide that tonight will be the night. Goal: Finish all major assignments and get to bed by midnight. But then, when you’re a student that commutes and gets home at best around 7:45 p.m., that can be a tiny bit…well…impossible. Don’t even get me started on my Netflix queue.
3. “I will not waste time.”
Yeah OK. I won’t lie. After the first month, university feels never-ending; it gets exhausting. And sometimes we just get plain old lazy. You know when you’re so fatigued that you can’t even force yourself to turn your eyes away, so you kind of just stare at nothing in particular for a while? You’re so busy trying to encourage yourself to focus that you barely realize time passing. Five minutes becomes an hour…and then somehow you find yourself asleep on your desk. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow I guess.
4. “I will not fall behind.”
Easy to say and difficult to do. You walk into class that first day with every intention of learning. But the first 15 minutes pass…and then 20, and then boom, all of a sudden your professor seems to be speaking gibberish, and your mind is spinning trying to catch up. “I’ll ask him questions after class,” you think. But let’s be honest. When you have your next class halfway across campus, starting in exactly 10 minutes, you’re not going to stop by to have a lovely chat with your professor about what the heck he was going on about the past hour. Yes, there are always office hours that you could attend. But do you do that? Nope. Why? Because you decide you can figure out the material yourself. You are a genius after all, right? Wrong. Now starts every student’s downward academic spiral.
5. “I will eat healthy.”
One of the major perks of commuting from home is healthy, home-cooked food which I am lucky to receive. But living on campus…now that’s an entirely different story. Yes, there are somewhat healthy options available. But being burdened with thousands of dollars of debt, we learn to save money where we can; and sadly, if a burger is cheaper than a salad, we’re goin’ for the burger. Not that we’re really complaining.
6. “Social media will not distract me.”
I feel like it has become a kind of norm to have at the very least a Facebook and YouTube tab open while studying; and it’s not always our fault. Facebook comes in very handy when you’re absolutely clueless on how to approach a problem and need to consult a friend. And YouTube? I can’t imagine concentrating without music. The only downside is that you’re now an exhausted, easily distracted college student that’s going to spend more than a few minutes scrolling your newsfeed.
All in all, I lie to myself. The secret’s out; college life is HARD. Your self-expectations often exceed what is realistic and sometimes you can’t help but set goals that are impractical. However, when you graduate 2, 3, or 4 years down the road, these expectations of yourself, these insignificant failures and lies you’ve told yourself along your journey are what create the best memories; and isn’t that what university life is all about?
Featured image via Engin Akyurt on Pexels
I love this article. I just finished syllabus week at my school (WSU) and I feel the exact same way!
Awww thank you so much! <3
School starts next week for me and I've already successfully completed number one on the list up there! HAHA
Its like a reoccurring cycle. Every semester and every Sunday! Always trying to get your shit together.
I cannot thank you enough for the blog.Really thank you! Awesome.
I cannot thank you enough for the post.Really thank you! Fantastic.
Fantastic article post.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.