College, although a very exciting time in someone’s life, can also be a very stressful time. Your life is changing. You’re in a new environment with new people and the whole thing can feel pretty overwhelming.
Prior to starting college, I had a few worries, but I was mostly excited to start. Every time I visited the Chapman campus I fell more and more in love and the Keck building seemed like a dream. I was starting with my best friend from high school, Nayiri, and it all seemed like it was going to be great. Hey, I loved science in high school so it couldn’t be too hard right?
My optimistic expectations quickly pivoted into actual reality. I started as a full-time college student and an ER EMT all within the same month. I hadn’t worked out my work schedule yet, so I was going from school, to work all night, back to school all day and going days without sleeping.
At first, I didn’t handle it well, but like anything with life, it takes time to adjust to new things. I started to change my work schedule to working only on weekend nights. I learned to say no to picking up extra shifts. I figured out study methods that worked for me. I relied on my family and friends for support. I’ve never been one to get stuck in a rut, so I just had to change my perspective and figure out what works for me on the balancing act we call life. I quickly learned that 24 hours in a day may not feel like enough, but if you plan out your hours right, you sure can get a lot done.
Talking to the students from Orange High was a great experience because it made me reflect on where I was at when I was their age. I always knew that I wanted to go to medical school so I was thinking about college from a really young age. It was interesting to hear what was going through their heads about college.
The girls I talked to were thinking about college and knew that they wanted to go, but didn’t have an idea of where yet. They had many questions about how people handle the workload that comes with college. I talked to them about how developing your own methods takes time and that’s okay. You don’t have to have it all figured out the way you walk into school- in fact, you really shouldn’t. I had similar questions about workload coming into college and I had many people try to scare me. I always- and still- hate it when people do that. You figure it out. You just do. I told the Orange High students that they shouldn’t let other people’s opinions scare them out of their own. I am excited to go back and talk to them about how to go about picking majors and looking into potential schools that they may be interested in!
The Thoughts of a Sleepless Pre Med Student 
2 replies on “Expectations vs. Reality”
Hi Makena!! Cheers to the pre med life forcing us to plan out our futures way before normal teenagers do! But actually, I relate a lot to what you said about having to adjust your schedule immediately going into school with so much on your plate. Last year I came into freshman year not only as a pre med student, but also volunteering at UCI Medical center and working 2 jobs, so I was having a really hard time until I learned to get ahold of my schedule and balance everything more efficiently. I especially felt the part about learning to say no about picking up extra shifts (I still have a hard time saying no sometimes). Although I do wish we had more than 24 hours in the day to get more done, I definitely agree that we can make it work to our advantage with the right mindset and tools. Loved reading this–saw so much of pre-pre med Angelina going through the same things!
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I agree with your opening statement and also was very optimistic when I entered college, and I definitely think that expectations can often lead people astray.
I also liked your comment when you said that you learned to say no to extra shifts. I think that oftentimes college students are offered numerous opportunities and have to learn to say no. Something that is easier said than done.
Lastly, I think that there is truth to the statement of you sometimes just need to do it, to figure it out. Sometimes putting your head down and chugging through is the only way forward and thought it was good advice. Well done.
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