There, I said it. After we leave high school, we are told it is time to “grow up and face the real world.” Some move on to work, and some move on to college. Those of us who have decided to further our education probably walked into our first class terrified. Why? Because throughout high school, our teachers have engraved how difficult college would be in our minds, and how our future professors would not deal with the shenanigans that we got away with during high school. How true is that?

Now, to be fair, everyone has had different experiences when it comes to high school and college. In my experience, however, college has been easier than high school. I am a sophomore in my fourth semester at Rowan, majoring in Sports Communication and Media. You know what they say about Communications majors… well, I am here to confirm those claims.

My major consists of a lot of writing, which I enjoy. Writing has always been one of my strengths. Whether it be a lengthy paper or a story that deserves to be told, I have always loved doing it. That right there made my journey easier. Rather than having tests, I was writing papers, print news releases, analyses, reviews, and any piece of writing you could think of.  Even my finals were writing assignments. My roommates, however, cannot relate.

Two of them are Psychology majors, meaning their workload is a lot heavier compared to mine. If I am being honest, I think I have seen them more stressed than relaxed in the two years I have known them. They spend so much of their time studying and doing homework, and I applaud them. Seeing them every day makes me grateful that it is not one of the experiences we share in college.

In my first year, I got most of my pre-requisite classes out of the way, which made the transition easier since they were subjects I was already familiar with. Walking into my first college class already knowing what I wanted to do with my life was also a bonus. Anyways, my first semester was practically a breeze, and not what I was expecting at all.

I would consider myself to be a good student. I have always worked hard to complete all of my assignments on time. Most of my classes just felt like long lectures. I do not remember much material from those classes, but I did pass and got good grades as well. I feel like I spent a lot of that semester learning life skills like time management. By the spring semester, I was convinced I had the whole college thing down.

Starting in year two, I was nervous once again. I kept thinking, “Maybe it was just easy because it was my first year. This is when the real work comes. This is when it gets hard,” but nope! It was still easy. Last semester, I remember sitting in my room, bored because I had nothing to do. I would go out into the living room and see my poor roommates sitting there for hours on end doing homework. As much as I felt bad, I was almost jealous that they had something to work on while I only had about 3-4 assignments a week. I know that sounds insane to say, but it was true. Now here I am, in my fourth semester at Rowan. Things are finally starting to pick up, but I can still say it has been relatively easy. So, if there is anything you take from reading this: do not overthink things. Do not be afraid to start a new chapter of your life over the fear of challenges. College is the time to learn about yourself, learn about your desires, and learn which things work for you, and which things do not. Everyone’s experience is different, and I hope that yours is filled with the least amount of stress possible. Maybe college will be harder than high school for you, but I promise, you got this. Do not ever forget that.

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