Stressing about My Future: Take One

Here we go ­– my first freak-out session as a college student. As the questions whirl around in my head (Who am I? What am I doing with my life? Will I ever find a job?), I have to take a breather and look outside at the beautiful college campus where I have the pleasure of living.

Sometimes I ask myself, “Lauren, do you really want to continue your life as a journalist?” I mean, I love writing and I wish I could get paid to sit by myself all day and just give opinions on daily life; however, unless I became darn good at it, I have to make a name for myself first.

Authors such as J.K. Rowling, Kelsey Timmerman and Conor Grennan have expanded my knowledge of not only writing, but the world as well. Rowling went from being a broke, single mother to being one of the richest women in the world. Timmerman was curious about where and how his clothes were made so he traveled the world out of sheer curiosity. Grennan wanted to build his ego by helping a children’s orphanage on the other side of the world, only to find out he grew to love those children (as well as the woman he met, who is now his wife).  None of these authors write for newspapers. In all honesty, if I had to write news articles for a newspaper, I’d probably claw my eyes out; but what ever chooses to come my way – the more, the merrier!

My ambition comes from opinions, life experiences, and the inner five-year old who loves to read. I did not grow up watching ABC News or Fox; I grew up reading the works of Dr. Seuss, the antics of Junie B. Jones and the Harry Potter series. To this day, I head straight toward the Fiction section when I walk into my town’s local library and I almost always grab Jodi Picoult’s or Nicholas Sparks’ most-recent novel. My imagination chooses to run wild, and I keep a loose leash on it. I do not necessarily picture myself being an avid author of novels, but if the right story comes along, then I may very well be on the shelves of your local bookstore one day.

What High School Doesn't Tell You

Some of you may wonder, What does she mean? High school told me everything I needed to know to make it out here in the real world! 

Well, I'm sorry buddy; but if you swear to that statement, then you are not in the real world.

Sure, all of my teachers told me I would officially be on my own once I entered the walls of a college campus. My teachers even told me I would be accountable for my actions and I'd probably be broke for a couple of years. 

What teachers do not tell you is they are actually making college out to be a lot worse than what it is. It is basically the life of a typical high school student, but on steroids.

Lie #1:

In college, professors do take attendance. All of those lies you've been told by teachers and parents about the carelessness of professors and the lack of attendance-taking can be thrown out of the window; they are useless. All of my professors take attendance, and even my lecture hall class with over 200 students gets caught off-guard with a surprise attendance day here and there.

Lie #2:

A lot of your teachers in your classes are not even professors. Crazy, huh? A lot of them are actually instructors who have not yet reached the "Professor" title. Even so, they know what they are talking about and you should still listen to them. They are your colleagues and could write a recommendation letter for you one day.

Lie #3:

Not all college kids go out on the weekends and party. This one probably comes as a shock to A LOT of you. Most of my weekends have been spent with my close friends I have made here thus far in front of a T.V. watching Rom-Coms  or at a booth in a restaurant off the university's campus (but hey, I'm not complaining). 

Lie #4:

Your classes are actually a lot easier and a lot more fun than what your elders make them out to be. Not every class is in a huge lecture hall with what seems like two million other college students. Most of them seem like discussions you would have with a boss or a co-worker, but the only difference is your speedy hand moving across the page of your notebook trying to record every word the instructor says.

Lie #5:

If you are busy stocking up your pantry with Ramen Noodles to take to college and stuff under your bed in your dorm room, then STOP. Not once have I made those delicious, packaged noodles. In the summertime, your taste buds crave a simple and quick meal in between laps in the pool, but in college, you want the most filling and the best meals you can find. A lot of campuses now actually have decent food courts housed within their walls. In mine, for example, I can eat a different meal every night of the week (this may not be good for my body, but who cares?). Throw out those noodles and fill yourself up with some good brain food while you are here. 

If you choose to believe any of these false accusations that your teachers or parents have spread, then do as you please. I, on the other hand, am going to enjoy watching a movie for a homework assignment while I eat a Mexican pizza from the Taco Bell on campus.