College is the perfect time to explore your identity, and you shouldn’t waste your time trying to become someone you’re not. Growing up, you may have heard someone say the following phrase: “College is the best four years of your life.” While the sentiment may be a little misleading, for many people it actually holds some truth. College, for many who attend, ultimately ends up being the best four years of their lives, from finding their college sweethearts to making lifelong friendships. This, however, is not a universal experience. College can quickly become more about keeping up the appearance of perfection to show off to your peers rather than about actually living. While it may be easier for some students to avoid this downward spiral, it’s safe to say that we have all felt the pressure at some point in our college career.
Your college experience, for the most part, is what you want it to be. If you want to spend hours away hiding in a corner of a library every single day, no one is going to stop you. That’s the best part about being a college student; you get to decide how you spend your free time outside of class — whether that be sitting under a tree wearing your favorite outfit on campus or never leaving your dorm room.
For some, romanticizing their life is what brings them joy. You plan your entire day around finding the perfect spot on campus to study. You make the perfect playlist, put on the perfect outfit and order your favorite drink at Starbucks. To some people, this entire routine may seem like a complete waste of time, only making the simple act of studying all that more complicated. While they may be correct in theory, for many students setting up their routines, this is the only way they can be productive. We shouldn’t be so quick to judge others because they actively choose to over romanticize simple experiences. College can be very stressful. If the way you choose to cope with that stress is by ordering an overpriced iced coffee and posting an aesthetically pleasing picture of it onto your Instagram story, then so be it. But this, of course, isn’t going to fix your problems.
I say this from personal experience, because everything I just described are all things that I have done in order to cope with the stress that comes along with being a college student. I have done it all: from the strict bedtime routines to having no routine at all. I can safely say that there is no perfect way to be a college student. There’s no perfect formula that you can follow, and no internet life hack is going to miraculously change your life. Trust me. Failing into these toxic mentalities around having the most aesthetically pleasing routine only leaves you burnt out in the end. While it may seem enticing to follow internet trends and completely surrender to wellness culture, these trends aren’t always the answer. And if you choose to not participate in them, it doesn’t diminish your experience as a college student.
Nonetheless, there is no perfect way to be a college student. Everyone is going to have their own unique experience, and the key is to figure out what works the best for you. You can be the student that only takes their notes on their iPad using aesthetically pleasing templates. On the flip side, you can be the student that refuses to bring a laptop to class because you know that handwriting your notes has been statistically proven to be better for remembering information. If you wake up everyday and make yourself the main character, you have all the right in the world to do so. There’s no harm in romanticizing your life while in college — sometimes, it’s the only way to make the experience worthwhile. It’s important to remember that most things you see on social media are fabricated, so don’t fall victim to holding yourself to unrealistic standards. Instead, remember that there’s more to being a college student than aesthetically pleasing morning routines and cute coffee study dates.
