The deception surrounding the perfect semester
By Maeve O’Callaghan
If you had asked me at the beginning of the semester what my goals were for that time, I would have answered with optimism and sheer naivety that I would join an abundance of societies, play with a college sports team, get involved in both university and national politics, volunteer my time to a charitable organisation, actually study and attend classes, and of course make new friends and explore the city and nightlife.
Looking back, I can picture myself wide-eyed and excited about the new experiences and opportunities that were laid out in front of me. I was so sure that I would take full advantage of my position ad become a different version of myself; an involved, cultured and intellectual individual who used her time wisely and was enthusiastic about doing it. The list of aspirations and expectations that I had set out for myself was extensive, yet I was sure that I really would put my best foot forward and get involved. That’s what you’re supposed to do in college isn’t it? To step out of your comfort zone, become independent, an individual? At least, that’s what they tell you. You’re led to believe that all these goals you’ve set out for yourself and the goals that other people have set out for you, they can be achieved in the space of 3–4 months. That you will dive head-first into college life with nothing to hold you back. This is a grossly misleading, idyllic fantasy.
Sure, there may be some super-humans out there who can balance being chairperson of 7 societies, captain of 3 sports teams, and playing the lead in the college’s musical, all while maintaining top tier grades and a thriving social life, but for us lowly, less impressive, average humans, it’s just not our reality.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a piece to ridicule those who have actively engaged with their interests and contributed to something bigger than their Netflix watch-list. I am writing this to hopefully connect with my fellow under-achievers, and to communicate to them that they are not doing it wrong. If you still have the same goals now as you did at the beginning of the first semester, it’s not too late to get involved and accomplish at least one goal on that list. If your list has changed, gotten longer, shorter or disappeared altogether, that’s okay too. Really there is no one way to experience your first semester or first year. There is no rule book.
Everyone’s experience is different and to compare your experience to anyone else’s is futile.
Although I did not get as involved as I had intended to in my first semester, I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience. I took my time to settle, to adjust, and relieved myself of the added pressure of other people’s wishes and expectations of what my experience should entail. There is no such thing as the perfect semester, and if you expect to find it by conforming to other people’s visions of the ideal experience, you will only find disappointment and confusion.
Therefore, I implore you to live by your own clock, your own instincts and your own desires, and hopefully then you will be able to say with confidence and conviction, that you unapologetically lived your individual, tailor-made definition of a perfect college experience, because it will be your experience, untouched by anyone else.
