This morning I woke up with a brand new realisation; college tends to mess us up in more ways than we actually realise.
So much had been said about college; there would be fun, and friends, and love, and tremendous self-discovery. All movies, TV shows, older friends, and books had romanticised the idea of college and the life that it offers. But now that I have spent a reasonable amount of time doing college, I am surprised that nobody warned me about screwed up sleep cycles, food disorders, and emotional trauma.
I spent my freshman year believing that I was perhaps the only one going through this. As time passed, I began to realise how common this really is. College is suicidal. It is a roller coaster ride that only goes up.
You enter a phase where you struggle hard to figure out who you are, but at the same time, externally you’re supposed to look composed and like you’ve got your shit together. You have to worry about grades, assignments, and attendance. You have to burn yourself in order to keep up with being a good student. You need to manage self-care, your GPA, and your relationships.
I am surprised that nobody warned me that college is about you losing people; to death, to circumstances, and to other people. Why is that nobody spoke about the break downs, letting go, and lying awake at 4 AM staring into mental abysses. College is low key scary that way.
I have come to realise that it is a rite of passage where you don’t have the protection that school provided and the stability that the future will entail. You are a fish trying to find its way in the sea. You are on your own, trying to mould what will mould you.
It is about staying alive and staying sane.
The Lexophile 