Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier features editor
As my four years at Berry wind down to a close, I look back at my freshmen year self and I am surprised by how much I’ve changed. When I arrived at Berry, wide eyed and naïve, I thought college would be the best four years of my life. In some ways, these four years were great, but there were just as many downs as there were ups.
The months leading up to my college departure were full of excitement. I imagined my spacious, perfectly decorated dorm and a roommate that I would be best friends with. I imagined having fun college adventures every weekend, flying by my classes and maybe even finding the perfect guy. Fun fact: none of these things happened. My room was small and cramped. My roommate and I got along, but by the end of the semester we hardly spoke to each other. Classes were hard, and I spent every night locked in my room studying. While a few guys came and went, none of them were perfect.
College is often portrayed as “the best time of your life.” While it can certainly be fun, I don’t think it’s healthy to set these years up as being better than the rest of your life. Yes, college is a lot of fun. You will meet a lot of different people, there are tons of events happening every weekend, and you will form a community of people with the same academic interests. You will live in a walkable community with people your age right down the hall and, unlike high school, these people genuinely want to be there. At the same time, college will be one of the most stressful times of your life. You are constantly planning out next week’s assignments, or studying for that next exam. Having a roommate is fun at first, but then it gets tiresome never having your own space. Moving into a dorm is exciting, but eventually the cycle of moving in and out each year gets exhausting.
When I would imagine graduating from Berry, I thought I would be overcome with sadness leaving the place I have now learned to call home. While I am going to miss this chapter of my life, I am ready to move on. I’m ready to work a job that ends after five, and I’m ready to go home and unpack my stuff without having to pack it up again once the summer ends. While Berry will always have a place in my heart, I know that there will be many good things to come in the next years.
College will likely not be as you expected — and that’s perfectly ok. Rather than meticulously planning how each year will go, be open to change. Be open to making new friends, having new experiences and or even joining a club that you don’t know if you will like. These years will be full of unexpected challenges, but take these experiences in stride and let yourself learn from them. Before you know it, these four years will come to an end, but look forward to the next chapter rather than lingering in the past.