The College Diaries | Pros and Cons of the College Life

As high schoolers we dream of going to college. We dream of having the infinite freedom of living away from our parents. No one to nag us or interfere in our lives. And while college is a fantastic and completely worthwhile experience, it's not absolutely flawless.

PRO: Freedom. 

This is the biggest and by far most common pro. We can basically do whatever we want, be wherever we want, eat whatever we want. There is no one nagging us to eat or sleep. I have been at college for about six days and for so many of those days we've stayed up until one or two in the morning just sitting and talking, something I normally wouldn't have been able to do at home. We even get freedom inside our classroom. Finally we can take classes and subjects we actually like rather than just fill a quota.

CON: No privacy/ alone time 

As an only child one of the things I cherished most was my alone time. Time I could talk to myself and just sit and think, allowing myself to relax and unwind. It was time I didn't have to socialize or keep up a reputation. And in college that time is exponentially smaller. First of all, most people have a roommate. And since you share such a small space with someone, it's fairly difficult to find time to have the room to yourself. And second, you live in a building filled completely with other people your age. People are constantly going in and out of rooms and going up and down the stairs, so complete silence and aloneness is hard to achieve.

PRO: People 

This could be both a pro and a con, but in order to spin it in a more positive way, I'll make it a pro. There are so many people in college and so many types of people. Everyone has some type of story to them and it's actually a lot of fun to meet and learn the backgrounds behind all of these people. There are people you instantly click with, and there are others that take a bit more figuring out, but all together it is definitely an interesting experience.

CON: It's so much easier to feel lonely

This sort of contradicts a previous point I made. Although it's hard to achieve a state of being alone, feeling lonely is very easy. This is the first time away from your parents, and if you're extremely close with your parents like I am, then their absence is extremely palpable in your life. On top of that you realize that at college everyone comes to do their own thing. Some people have class, while others have jobs or internships. No one is going through the exact same path so it's hard to have people know exactly what you're going through.

There are both PROS and CONS to the college lifestyle, and while I am excited to continue on this journey, I'm also terrified. There are so many interactions and relationships that I'm making for the first time here and I'm very worried that my lack of experience will unintentionally mess them up.