College life isn
’t nearly what I expected it to be. Nothing that’s happened so
far was ever in my college “far-off fantasy land” imagination.
Sometimes I look back to the beginning of June and I literally get
chills. Where did that life go? I wish I could tell you there was
one thing in my life that is the
same as it was in the beginning of June, but the only thing that
hasn’t changed is my family.
College life isn’t nearly what I expected it to be.
Nothing that’s happened so far was ever in my college “far-off fantasy land” imagination. Sometimes I look back to the beginning of June and I literally get chills. Where did that life go? I wish I could tell you there was one thing in my life that is the same as it was in the beginning of June, but the only thing that hasn’t changed is my family.
During my senior year of high school, everyone would talk about college as if it was this whole new world of experiences but I just thought of it as more school: high school, part two. I was wrong. Maybe other college students don’t feel this way, but I’m freaking out over the differences.
Suddenly I’m living with 49 other girls I practically just met. I’m taking 17 units of study, and I’m trying hopelessly to get into the rewarding college career of waitressing. There are papers due and tests to study for and at the same time I’m surrounded by activities that I want to be a part of.
I didn’t think it would be this hard to discipline myself. In high school, I knew how to prioritize and manage my time. Now that I have moved away from home, I find myself drowning in a sea of never-ending deadlines, and more than half the time I put them off to the very last moment imaginable.
When I started at San Jose State, I was determined to participate in everything I could possibly get my hands on. Now I’m afraid I bit off far more than I can chew.
My first mistake? Taking Bible history and literature. I agreed to take this class with a high school friend and I curse myself everyday for that one painful moment of insanity. See, unlike my friend, I haven’t been attending religion classes and Bible study groups since before the womb, so this class is a little over my head. Not that it wouldn’t be over most people’s heads. I mean, it’s never a good sign when your textbook happens to be the largest and most confusingly misinterpreted book in the entire world.
Each quiz consists of about 50 glossary terms I have to memorize. Hyksos? Pseudepigrapha? Moloch? Gehenna? Do you know them? Well, I don’t either, which is my main problem. I’ll make flashcards and study three nights before the test, only to get an impressive 57 percent because during the actual moment of test taking whatever Gehenna is has long since escaped my brain.
College lesson learned: never take a class because a friend is taking it. Instead of all the hours I’ve wasted stressing and agonizing over this class, I learned I could have taken Creative Writing or Intro to Shakespeare and earned the same General Ed credits.
When planning out schedules for next semester, friends were trying to convince me to take things like Beginning Racquetball and Molecular Cell Biology. I’ve now learned to kindly decline.
I’m also taking the “getting involved” idea to a bit of an extreme. I joined the University Affairs committee and then before I knew it, I was taking workshops and building up a resumé to run for a board position in March. It’s been stressful, but I don’t want to give up the opportunity to be in student government. I’m hoping that by March my schedule will be under control so that taking two weeks off school to literally campaign for myself won’t be too much of a problem. (Apparently they take student government very seriously at San Jose State. During election week, you have to carry a walkie-talkie with you at all times and you have your own speechwriters. You’d think it was presidential and televised.)
I also wanted to get involved in my sorority and ended up being in charge of a committee for community service during the week of Halloween. Not only did I miss a week of work for this, but a lot of classes, too. I wanted to be a part of it. Decorating sugar cookies and carving pumpkins with children of battered wives, raising money and collecting canned food are all great causes, but at the same time I need to realize my classes are important too.
Honestly, sometimes I’m just too overwhelmed and I don’t know where to begin. As I write this column, I have a 14-page term paper due in two days, two article reviews, another famous quiz for bible history to study for, a thousand-word essay about Al Gore due tomorrow and a really big headache. I somehow managed to be voted “New Member of the Semester” in my sorority and most the time I’m either flipping out over an assignment or putting it off for another day.
New member of the semester? I don’t feel like one. It seems like college time is multiplied by 10. I can’t believe this weekend is already Thanksgiving. Where did the semester go? In high school it seemed like I was counting the days until the end of the semester, now I wish I had two extra weeks! I’m feeling out of control, but my very wise and intelligent big sis told me every college student feels this way at some point.
I guess the trick is to balance and prioritize. To know when you should say yes or no, when you should put an assignment off and when you shouldn’t. Don’t get me wrong. I love college. I think the problem is that I love it too much. With finals coming up in two weeks, my first semester of college is almost over.
It’s been the most amazingly awesome time of my life. I’m just hoping next semester I will have mastered the art of prioritizing. Then again, I think that is every college student’s dream.
Chrissy Bryant is freshman at San Jose State University. She writes A College View about local college life and things that catch her fancy. Contact Chrissy at ed******@*************es.com
