Beer. Pizza. Partying. A stock photo of young adults sitting on the grass looking at a laptop. When we’re asked to think of what college is like, these are a few of the images that typically come to mind. The college experience, from a high schooler’s perspective, seems more like having fun than anything else. In movies and on television, the tests are studied for at the last minute. Parties are loud, drowning in alcohol and lasting until 3 a.m. But this is far from a sustainable, healthy lifestyle for anyone, including students. For all freshmen who are embarking on their UF career, be aware that the next four years will not be like they are in the movies. And if they are, you’re probably doing something wrong.
Most of your college experience may be boring. You may spend an hour of your precious Saturday at the grocery store, which may involve a dull bus ride. You may stand in a brightly lit aisle for far too long trying to decide what kind of detergent best fits your personality. Is Tide worth it? Should you buy the Febreze scented one? Would the scent of Gain or Dawn better interest that girl you have a crush on in your English class? Does buying regular Tide make you basic? Questions like these, and other chores like laundry, cleaning, organizing, exercising, club activities and caring for your pets (if you have them) will suck up much of the free time you planned to have.
If you dreamed of being surrounded by friends every minute of every day, you may be in for disappointment. The friends you meet will all be trying to succeed, just like you. They’ll have their own goals for working and studying, which involve being in the library, going to class, doing homework and staying involved. That usually does not involve relaxing at Lake Wauberg. Or beer pong. That, in turn, means there is little time left for shenanigans. If during the first few weeks of being at UF you feel like you aren’t having as much “fun” as you should be, don’t worry. That’s normal. Your experience doesn’t have to include hanging out with your friends on a weeknight until 2 a.m. or filling up every second of your weekends with brunch and coffee and parties.
Freshman year will break a lot of the expectations you had for college. Some of the best times of your life will play out over ice cream in the dining hall, rather than drunk at a frat party. A lot of your quality experiences will happen at office hours, when your professors tell you about how much they’ve enjoyed reading your papers, or how they appreciate your activity and engagement in class. The happiest times will more likely be found with a few close friends than at the bottom of a red Solo cup. This is why it’s important to manage your expectations for what you want college to be.
There is no recipe or rulebook for how many parties you should attend your first year, or how many friends you should make, or how many clubs you should join. There is only you, and how you want to measure your own happiness and success — be it by your GPA, number of books read or a tally of how many pranks played on your resident assistant.
Just because college will be more work than you expect doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t have fun. Go view a Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park sunrise on a Sunday morning. Do sundown at the Bat Houses. Give yourself time to breathe. Relax. Recharge. Take care of your mental health. Just don’t think college will be the picture-perfect cinematic experience, bordering on “22 Jump Street” and “American Pie,” that Hollywood has led you to expect. The real value is found in abusing the unlimited meal plan. So slow down, work hard and have fun in all the ways you truly enjoy.
