College Dreams and Expectations

Ever since I was a little kid, all my mom would ever talk about was college and my career. Everything I ever worked for was towards getting into college. In high school, I was the average girl. I wasn’t popular but pretty much everyone knew who I was but that is probably because I went to a small, private school. I was above average thought when it came to academics. I always studied and always did my homework so I didn’t go out very much. Some people considered me a nerd but I didn’t really care. I was very outgoing around my friends but I was very quiet and shy during class. I was just so excited about college and had so many expectations for it.

My parents have always stressed the importance of doing well in school so I could get into a good college and then get into medical school. I never really got to go out because my mom thought it would distract me from my studies. Freedom was definitely one of the main things I was looking forward to in college. I wanted to be able to go out when I wanted instead of staying at home studying all the time. I have always good time management skills so I knew going out wouldn’t affect my work.

Another thing that I expected was that I wouldn’t get that much homework. My sister is a college student and she never has homework. She always told me that it was so easy. I was looking forward to not having classes so early in the morning so I could sleep in but I was very wrong about that. I still have classes early in the morning. Now that I’m here, it’s the opposite. U.T turned out to be a lot more challenging that I thought. My classes are so tough, even harder than my sister’s senior level courses. I have so much homework all the time that I have no time to go out at all. I’m just always at the library finishing up my work or studying. In high school, I never had to worry about studying weeks in advance. I just studied the night before and I was fine. I thought I could do that in college too. All my life, I never had a failing grade in anything I did. Here in college, that changes. I’m just very overwhelmed.

When I was looking at maybe attending the University of Texas at Austin, I was so excited. I knew it was going to be challenging and rigorous but I also thought it would be such a fun and memorable experience. I also thought the way Jude’s great-aunt did when she said, “ It is place much too good for you to ever have much to do with” (802). Some people at my school thought I wasn’t smart enough. I let people’s negative comments get to me so I started thinking the same way. I decided to work even harder my senior year of high school and of course I did get accepted to U.T.

College has really been an eye-opening experience so far. I am trying to find a self here with everything I learn and all the new things I experience. I have grown to be more outgoing and friendly with people to make new friends. Now, I have so much school spirit than I have ever had. Socializing with friends is not a priority anymore and probably will never be one. Doing well in my classes is my goal all the time. I always have to study all the time for tests and quizzes. Waiting until the last minute is not an option anymore if I want to do well. I can’t have my parents telling me when to do my homework. I have learned to push myself to keep myself focused. I hope college will continue to change me in various ways, hopefully for the better so that I succeed in all my future endeavors.