mind and muse

Personally, college was something I never really gave a whole lot of thought in high school. I never had a “dream school” or a specific “college town” in mind, so it was decided quickly that picking somewhere would ultimately be pretty easy. I applied to just my state schools in Iowa, but ended up choosing my local community college in the end. Money was a huge reason why I took this route, so with that in mind, i’m content and love the decision that I made.

With that, I want to discuss the hardships that come with not only the community college path, but just the college experience in general.

Whenever someone asks me what i’m doing/where i’m going, and I say my community college, the immediate response is always the same. “Oh that’s ok!”, or a “I wish my daughter would’ve done that to save us some money!”. I don’t think anyone has ever said “Oh that’s great, good for you!” or “How do you like it?”. I always just accept the first common responses and smile it off. But the reality is, why are you telling me “It’s ok”? I know it’s ok. That response implies that what i’m doing could easily be seen as embarrassing, underwhelming, pedestrian, and undistinguished. All of the “Ok’s” I get from middle aged woman was something I did not dissect when I made the decision of not choosing a big 4-year school. As if that is somehow better in anyway. Better status? I’ll never really know. College is all about what’s best for you and what you want for your future. To overcome the backhanded responses, I simply sit back and say let them. Let them say what they wanna say, and let me do me. That can definitely be hard more times than not, but it’s worth it to know that my life is all mine, and if you’re happy, no one can tell you you’re not successful. When i’m older I will always be the woman to say “That’s amazing!” to any decision in the someones game of life, no matter what it is. Because now I know, it’s so important to have people who don’t try to reassure you of something that is already up to par, simply because of a warped perception. True support is more important than ever in this era of life.

College has pressure written all over it in so many ways.

I think the pressure of balancing everything that comes with being a student has been blown way out of proportion, and overdone. Between volunteering, homework, classes, personal life, jobs, and whatever else, it’s all truly insane. So I ask myself, why do we do this to ourselves? Of course we all go to college to get a degree and work towards our future careers, but I just mean why do we put way too much weight on our shoulders? And why do we bite off way more than we can chew? I think students at the collegiate level are not only some of the smartest, but the strongest as well. Sometimes I think we do so much that causes us stress simply to prove something. I haven’t quite unpacked what that “something” may look like yet, but that may just come with more experience. I truly do believe that being in college naturally comes with unnecessary pressure and demand, which is unfortunate. However, maybe instead of a view that’s so negative, we can look at is as preparation for whatever the future might hold. Whether you are studying medicine, engineering, finance, or something artistic, we all feel the fear of the uncertainty. It’s something I get anxious over every single day.

To help the everyday pressure as a college student, I simply look in the mirror and tell myself that everything IS ok. It WILL all work out no matter what. I WILL succeed. Sometimes, giving yourself those affirmations is all you can do, and I find that that is enough nowadays.