Expectations vs Reality: College

I've been at college now for almost a month and it's safe to say that the expectations I had have not matched the reality, however this isn't actually a bad thing in some cases! I thought I'd share a few of the things with you that I definitely wasn't expecting.

A Levels are extremely difficult: I remember when I finished school so many people told me that college would be a huge step up from GCSE's and that it would be a lot more difficult. Although it's only been a few weeks, so far the work hasn't been as challenging as I was expecting. In all honesty after being able to understand the work it's having to remember everything that becomes challenging rather than the actual work itself, which sucks for me because I don't have the best of memories.

Organising work: One thing I never anticipated before starting college was that I would be given so many worksheets and booklets that then required me to also have many folders, even 2 for some subjects. In my head I imagined only needing a notebook for each subject and a folder for any lose sheets but obviously that is not the case at all. In reality I've had to abandon my notebooks, despite how pretty they were, and switch to just using folders which I now have 6 of. However in some ways this has actually turned out to work better for me because it means everything is organised and kept together in one place, which will definitely be an advantage when it comes to revising.

People: Something that made me anxious about college was all the new people that would be there because I'm not the most confident of people so after spending 5 years with the same people it's quite intimidating being faced with over 1000 new faces. At first I didn't think I would be confident enough to talk to people however I found that it's extremely easy to talk to everyone which has definitely put me at ease.

Being judged: One of the major changes for me when starting college was no longer having to wear a uniform because I've pretty much worn one for the past 12 years. I've always thought that one good thing about wearing a uniform is that everybody looks the same so you don't get judged, which made me believe that at college I would be judged everyday for the way I dressed. But I couldn't have been more wrong! Not having to wear a uniform means that everybody can be seen as an individual and express themselves through their clothes and to my surprise I haven't been judged like I initially thought I would be.

What are some things you weren't expecting from college/school?

- Meg♥

Starting College

Yes you probably already know it's that dreaded time of year again to go back to school, or in my case to start college. So that also means it's time to say goodbye to the lovely weather we've being having and being to sleep as much as we want; two things I know I'm going to miss dearly! 

If you'd asked me a couple months back how I felt about leaving school and starting college I probably would have told you I couldn't wait for it, however now that the time has actually come I couldn't feel more unprepared. After being at school for 5 years and seeing the same faces and surroundings almost everyday it's safe to say that not going back to that familiarity is very nerve-racking for me. I've never been the best at adjusting to new things or making new friends for that matter as I always manage to think of every possible scenario that could go wrong 

However despite all the anxiety I'm feeling I've decided that I need to start focusing on the positive aspects of starting college in order to help me feel more comfortable with the situation. To help me do this I've managed to write a list of 5 things I'm actually looking forward to and I thought I would share them with you; 
1. Studying subjects I actually want to learn about 
2. Being more independent
3. Expressing myself through the way I dress
4. Finally being treated like an adult
5. Having free periods to do what I want

Hopefully with these things in mind I can somewhat block out all the negative thoughts I'm having, stop worrying about everything and try my best to actually look forward to and enjoy college.

what are you looking forward to about starting school/college.

- Meg♥