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IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
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The College Blues
by Theresa Solano, 12.18.03
I looked around at the thousands of faces in the auditorium, and realized that I didn't recognize a single one! |
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The college campus was covered with beautiful, fall-colored leaves. I walked alone, trying to appreciate my first autumn away at school. But something was wrong. I was feeling down, and I had been since school started. I couldn't figure out why. After all, I had just started college at a great school. I had been really excited — eager to meet new people and live away from home. What was wrong? What I didn't know was that I was experiencing something that's pretty common when people leave home and start college — something I've come to call "the college blues."
In the Beginning
Although everyone's situation is unique, it's common for first-year college students to feel sad, isolated, and uncertain. "Going to college can create an upset in one's world and in the way that we identify ourselves," says psychologist Deanna Pledge. "All of a sudden we're in a different world, with nothing around us that used to define who we are, like friends or family. Nothing may seem familiar. We may start to question who we are and our place in the world."
I went to a college in a rural environment that was very different from the inner city where I had lived my whole life. I was no longer part of the world of the struggling city I had grown up in, yet I didn't quite fit into this new world of the peaceful private school. I'm usually very friendly and outgoing, but I felt sad and shy. One day I looked around at the thousands of faces in the auditorium, and realized that I didn't recognize a single one! I was scared that my old friendships would end and that I wouldn't form new ones.
The academic part of school was overwhelming, too. It seemed like a hard step up from high school. I had no idea what classes to take and no real clue of what career I wanted to pursue. I decided to take a few introductory courses, and I found myself in biology and psychology. Then I discovered that I really didn't like sciences and I almost failed biology! Other students seemed so sure of their paths, but the future loomed over me as a big question mark. Not only did I have to deal with the question, "Where am I?" but I also wondered, "Where am I going?"
Beating the Blues
Dr. Deanna Pledge offers some tips to help deal with this major transition. "Preparing yourself before you go to school can be really key. Expect that it will be hard initially, both emotionally and academically," she says. "It can be good to develop good study habits before leaving high school, and to seek out emotional help from peer counselors and professionals both in high school and when you arrive at college. It's also important to make an effort to make friends to ground you in this new place and to keep a balance between study and fun."
In time, things started to look up for me at college. I became more familiar with my new environment, and I got used to being on my own. I found some inspiring courses, and I joined the track team. I started to get excited about all the opportunities around me. Some people invited me to a study group in the cafeteria, and eventually these people became friends I hung out with all the time. Soon, I didn't even want to go home to my parents on the weekends anymore. I stopped feeling so confused and sad and began to feel like myself again. I guess for some people, it just takes a little time! |
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