Being Present in College

There are many factors in the life of a college student. To the people who believe that it is all about nights out, taking part in societies and doing the odd bit of college work, you have much to learn.   

College life is about constant reading and the nervousness you feel before that one lecture that absolutely terrifies you (mainly because the lecturer makes you read out loud and answer some very in-depth questions that you most definitely don’t have the answer for). College life is about desperately wanting to hot food from the canteen but deciding that your homemade cold pasta will have to do in case of an emergency. College life is walking 50 minutes to college because paying for a bus is ridiculous.   

When we consider all of these factors, college is a frightening place where we can easily get lost if we don’t have anyone else who is experiencing the same torture to vent our worries to. It is too easy to slip into a place where you only go to college and go home, have no social life and feel completely alone in a big city. I experienced this last year in my first year studying Religious Education and English. I had, very naively, picked this course because I thought becoming a teacher would be easy and because the pay was good for the holidays you receive.   

I was miserable in my course choice.  

I was most definitely not the teacher type, I had no patience for teaching and I just simply did not have the interest in this profession. I would go to my classes and go home, this was my life for nine months. I had no interest in going out or participating in anything outside of college. This is why clubs and societies and the counselling service exists in college. Being present in college life is extremely important.  

I finished the year in the course that I hated and transferred to journalism and it felt amazing to actually have an interest in what I was studying and to do extra work for the college newspaper and HerCampus in my free time. Even though I believe this course is much harder, I still persist. I am a completely different person because I chose what is right for me.   

Clubs and societies are extremely important, they enable us to make friends with people who have the same interests as us and share our talents and experiences. We also need the occasional night out with friends because our only focus 24/7 cannot be on coursework and grades. Our mental health is one of the most important things to look after in college and it can become so easily frayed.   

Being present in college life means taking the time to enjoy the experience and knowing what is right for ourselves and who we are.   

• campus life