Nothing quite compares to the first week of school as a college student. Somehow, the dynamic shifts when it’s your first week back to school as a college student. There is excitement all around, activities galore, and the campus is bursting with hope and eagerness for the semester ahead. Although, for many upperclassmen, the farthest their excitement goes is reuniting with friends who they didn’t see for the summer. While the first week is different for everybody, there are some feelings you just can’t avoid, no matter what your classification may be.
“Are you kidding me” Feeling outdone with yourself, someone else, or an inanimate object
Hardly ever comical at the time, this feeling often comes as a result of getting to the door of classroom and realizing a) you’ve come to the wrong place b) you’re unprepared or c) you’re going to miss your great aunt’s luau tonight because you have to act like a responsible student. *Insert eye roll emoji that you will be sending to emphasize the strongly worded text message you will later use to complain* Will probably be laughable later.
“Ugh. This is the worst” Feeling inconvenienced and disgusted
I vividly remember thinking this after I came to the realization that I had to use the community bathroom for an entire year. Again, this may be funny after you no longer have to put up with whatever this particular thing is, but for now, absolutely not. The dining hall ruined your favorite food, your class schedule won’t allow you to attend Fried Chicken Thursday, the parking situation really is as bad as it seems, and YES, that teacher really is allowed to change the grading scale for her class (even if your 90 isn’t considered good enough for an A, I still think you’re amazing!)
“So, nobody’s going to applaud me for this?”
Let’s just say there are going to be a lot of self-fives during the duration of your college career. There’s nothing quite like the disappointment that follows you finishing your discussion post with three minutes to spare and no one praising you for it. It’s almost as if it’s…expected…or something. Weird, right? Unless you have a super awesome and encouraging kindergarten-teacher-like professor, then completing assignments, even the biggies, will not get you any kind of applause.
*long sigh* “One week down!” Feeling accomplished
There is a widespread sigh that can be heard if you stand really still and listen very closely on Friday afternoon as the students realize that their first week of the semester has come to an end. Even if the week wasn’t stressful, there’s a certain amount of relief that comes knowing that you really did it—whether it was sitting through your first lecture class or your twentieth.
Wishing you the BEST of luck in the semester ahead. Hopefully, the feels that the coming weeks bring only get better. There are a lot of great things in store for this fall, I can feel it!
-HCxo