Summer is about to end and right now your head is probably always busy with thoughts about how to prepare yourself for the new academic year. No secret that no matter what a fantastic planner you might be, your expectations will differ from the reality and there is nothing you can actually do about it. Here is the list of common expectations and realities for your upcoming new semester.
School Supplies Shopping
You probably think every new semester comes with a new set of pens and cute notebooks, correct? But in reality, you, most likely, won’t be able to afford all those adorable notebooks you keep on longing for. Or even if you are going to have some extra cash, there actually are a lot of better and more useful thighs to spend your money on.
Weekend Plans
Now that you finally turned 18 you might think things will change significantly and your weekend schedule is filled with invites to all the possible parties on campus. In reality, your Friday-to-Sunday nights will most likely be spent in front of your computer either watching all the series of your favorite TV show or writing a 10-page paper that is supposed to be submitted in a couple of days. Weekends will be your only time to catch some needed extra hours of sleep, and if you manage to squeeze a random night out once in a while, it will be right after you submit that assignment during the last minutes.
Meals
You are waiting for that time when you will get to decide what to eat and when, and the thought of an ability to have an ice cream for dinner can surely get you excited, isn’t it? In reality, food in common dining halls leaves much to be desired. Most likely, your excitement will last for no longer than the first week, by the week two or three you will realize you miss your mom’s cooking way too much. Better ask your parents to give you a couple of cooking lessons if you don’t want to spend the whole semester craving those homemade meals your mother used to cook for you.
Homework
If you think your professors wouldn’t assign you any tasks during the first week and you have a free syllabus week, you might actually be wrong. In reality, you will have homework to be completed even before you’ve even moved into your dorm. You will receive emails about books you need to read for upcoming classes weeks before school starts and don’t forget about those teachers who like to give online quizzes on the second day of classes.
Friends
College is the place where your life will change completely. Through the years of your studying, you will become more mature, confident, and independent. It is the place where you will meet your life-long friends who will always be there for you, whom you’ll experience first midterms, breakups, all-nighters, crazy parties, and a lot of other things with. Yes, reality will be much different from your expectations, but that doesn’t mean it will be worse, though!