I can’t believe I’ve officially finished my first year of college. It’s crazy to think that just a year ago, I was still in high school heading towards my college education with little excitement. I really hated high school, like really really hated it. I would sit in my car before the bell rang and just stare at the school, dreading my time there. I know it sounds dramatic, but I’ve just never been a fan of school. Prior to my first semester, I figured that I would probably hate college just as much.

Unfortunately, my first semester of college was not that great. I was taking classes that were almost identical to the AP classes I had taken in high school. I knew that the classes were just prerequisites that I had to get through, but I just felt so uninspired by the material we covered in class because I had already taken those classes!

I don’t really talk about this too much on my blog or Instagram, but I play oboe and I’ve played for 7 years now. Going into college, I planned on participating in orchestra and private lessons, but the university roped me into playing in another ensemble on top of what I had already signed up for. This meant that I was rehearsing 1-2 hours a day on top of my normal classes.

Taking on this musical workload when I was struggling to hold on to my interest in music was really difficult for me. I had so much music to learn on top of figuring out how to be a college student. I felt pretty depressed most days and exhausted when I got home at night. It was really hard to find the energy to practice at 8 or 9 o’clock at night when I didn’t even want to take on that workload. I would feel angry when I was practicing because I felt like the music professors and ensembles expected so much from me even though I was just a freshmen.

On top of this, I had my wisdom teeth taken out over the summer which prevented me from playing and “staying in shape” before school started. I felt like I was letting everyone down because I was so far behind.

I also did not make any friends my first semester. Even though I was in close quarters with the other students I was playing in ensembles with, I did not share the same passion for music they did. I also didn’t live on campus so there was no way to “force” friendships because the only time I was around other students was in class or in music ensembles.

I think no matter what, the first semester is just hard for everyone. I have to admit I had quite a few melt downs. I didn’t struggle academically, but I did struggle socially and I felt obligated to try my best even though I didn’t want to participate in those music ensembles. Everyone is going through something different their first semester, whether it’s learning to live away from home or just adjusting to a college workload.

My second semester of college went a lot better. I advocated for myself more and was able to get out of the ensemble I got dragged into doing my first semester. It can be really uncomfortable to stand up for yourself especially if you’re an introvert like me, but telling the music professors exactly what I would and would not spend my time doing significantly improved my life at school.

I also tried out a journalism design class which I ended up really enjoying. Learning how to use programs like photoshop, illustrator, and basic coding skills was fascinating to me. Aside from knowing how to use my iPhone efficiently (a classic Gen Z characteristic), I do not consider myself remotely tech savvy so developing more skills was really exciting. I learned a lot about technology by starting my blog and taking this class. I’ve been undeclared all this time, but I am seriously considering declaring a journalism major so I could go into graphic design.

If you’ve been following my blog, you probably know from my recent posts, that I started going to the gym this semester. Going to the gym helped me to break up my long day of sitting at school and also made me realize I could enjoy some of the time I spent on campus. I won’t go more into the gym aspect of my semester since I already extensively covered it in my gym update, but comparing my two semesters, I realize that I was more awake my second semester and I think I can attribute that to the gym.

I can’t say I’ve made much progress on the friend front. I’m not much of a partier and I do feel that it’s difficult to make friends because I avoid parties. I know that there’s introverts out there that I could be friends with, but making friends is just so hard! I did try to communicate more with people in my classes though. Maybe next semester.

My advice to anyone going into college is to expect a tough adjustment period. No matter the circumstances, you’re probably going to be experiencing a lot of change. Along with being prepared to adapt, I would also say advocating for what I wanted to do was extremely important as well. In the end, I promise college is not that bad.