My College Experience So Far

September 17, 2016

Hello.


So if you didn't know... I've started college this week. And I was seriously nervous about it.



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Whether it went good or bad... you'll see.

Day 1:
I was nervous. I wear skirts. All the time. What if people judge me? What if they insult me? 
So I went to college. I went early but the class was fairly full. It felt like everyone was scowling at me at first when I stepped inside but as I sat down, I was relieved that everyone who was chatting paid no attention to me. However, I was sure that some girls were whispering about me but I know the bullying (Secondary school) has affected me to the point where I feel that people are whispering about me whenever I leave my house.

I still have to do Irish, unfortunately.

Ahhhhh

There was a break and I thought I was actually going to get bullied this time but I wasn't targeted. Not everyone had friends on the first day (I'm not necessarily glad about that but I felt I was the only one?). Also, people seem to mind their own business in college. 

After Irish was Spanish and it seems grand because since most people are beginners, we are learning basic Spanish. So I'm not going to be behind!

"Grace, you shouldn't be glad about this because you've been learning Spanish for 5+ years you Pineapple head!"

The pineapple hairstyle is cute, though ;)

Image result for pineapple natural 4b hair
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"That's not what I was talki- ooooh it is."

^ A real conversation between me and my imaginary adversaries.

And after Spanish I closed from school pretty early. Yay! Though when a saw a large group of people coming to college in my direction I attempted to take another route but ended up missing the earliest bus. 

Why, anxiety, why?!

Day 2:
The day started with Communications and one of the first things the teacher told us to do was 

"Get up and start talking to people."

Me except... I wasn't saying it out loud of course...
We had a sheet of paper where traits and stuff were written and we had to ask people around the class if they had any.

*breathes in and out*

Thankfully, it wasn't bad and I said stuff when I needed to. One of the things written on the paper was:

'Would actually not like to win the lotto'

I pointed to that bit on the paper and people were like, "Of course nobody wouldn't like to win the lotto, you'd have to be crazy- wait, WHAT?!"

They didn't say the last part out loud but I knew they were saying it in their heads! I know they were! *shakes fist*

I never actually explained why but here's one of my reasons:

What if your neighbours found out and they all tried to rob you? 

Don't you scowl at your screen. You know I'm right. Deep down inside. You shouldn't trust no-one but you can't trust everyone either.

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Near the end of the day, it seemed like everyone had friends. ON THE SECOND DAY HOW.
And I felt terrible and tired and upset, partly because I was behind on Word Processing. I felt so alone at the end of the day and felt like crying when I came back home. However, I kept it all in for once and listened to some healing music. 

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Day 3:
I was nervous again. I was frantic about picking what to wear and ended up wearing a pink sweater/sweatshirt and a beige skirt. When I left the house, I realised that I probably looked about 5 and I missed the earlier bus! When I saw someone enter the bus, I actually heard someone say, "State of her skirt." I was therefore very discouraged and had terrible thoughts while I was on the bus to school. I even felt like skipping school. On the first week!

However, I went to school, thinking that this was the last day of the week and if anything bad happened, then I would see what would happen next.

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So I went to school and it turned out, nobody cared about how I dressed. Or at least nobody said anything about it near me.

I have to do Political Studies and we had a quiz. My team didn't win. 

Yeah yeah yeah


After school, I felt happier, lighter, brighter. I could wear what I want, walk home by myself and not get judged.

College really is different from Secondary school. I told this to my older brother who agreed with me. He told me that in Secondary school, most people try to conform to the 'norms' but in college, it's about being unique. In Secondary school, you would be called a loner for walking around by yourself but in college no one gives a care.

And I love that!

~

Yup yup. I wrote a post yesterday and now I'm writing one today. 

I'M ON FIIIIIRE Ha, as if

To be honest, I have no idea if I'll be posting on the weekend nows. Maybe I'll get a ton of assignments and I want to keep on top of things now that I'm in college.

This was basically a catch-up-with-blogs-day. I have no idea how people can blog so frequently. I thought school was on?

Maybe they have laptops... maybe they're not lazy.

I want to use the college time I have for the better. I'll try to write my story during breaks. And read a bit more. I'll try to get a laptop this month or next month because quite honestly, I hate sharing a computer >.<

PS: I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't see some bad things while searching for things on Giphy. Seriously, viewer discretion is advised.

 


                                      











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18 comments

  1. Woo! College! Adulting-ish, maybe, no? I'm almost in college and I certainly don't feel like an adult at all, do you feel more mature because college now?
    Skirts rock man! I wear skirts a lot too outside, sure I get weird looks but I impress them and most people won't say horrid things to your face. My school has a uniform so I don't need to worry about what to wear 5 days of the week :p
    Everyone I've talked to has told me that college is a lot different environment than high school/secondary school in that it's not as focused on being "popular" or "cool". I'm glad no one has bothered you and you're getting into the swing of things, keep going, YOU CAN DO IT! :)
    Have you decided what you want to study yet?

    And yes, giphy is a scary place, as is most of the internet...

    Great post!
    -Crystal!

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    1. I only feel slightly more mature and a bit less shy because people don't judge my clothes or my hair.

      I forgot Americans sometimes wear uniforms as well xD I had a uniform in my previous Secondary school.

      Thanks for the encouragement! I can do it!

      In my college, I'm doing pre arts. The subjects I'm doing are Folklore and Ethnology, Irish, Spanish, Archaeology, Communications, Word Processing, European Studies and Political Studies. I need to pass most of this to get into proper university. Next year I hope to study something to do with Arts though I'm now worried about whether I can get a job or not because I talked to one of my parents' friends about it :/

      Delete
  2. Haha, this is pretty similar to how my first week in high school went. ;) I can relate.
    I'm sure you're doing great, though!
    Oh, yes. Aren't those get-to-know-you-games awkward?
    Good luck in your adventures!!!! :) :) :)

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    1. Whoa, really?

      Yeah, those games are incredibly awkward.

      Thank you! <3

      Delete
  3. I really enjoy university. It takes a bit of adjustment, but you're right when you realized that people don't care about petty things like how you dress or how many friends you have. Just give it some time and it will get better. Good luck with the school year!

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    1. *sigh* I really hope it will, Things are just awkward nowadays...

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  4. I hope you settle into college, it can be quite daunting. And I can't believe you have to do Irish! That torture should be left at leaving cert. The main thing is you like your course. After that it's nice to like the people. I'm in my third year of University now and still have the same friends I made on the very first day. Everyone was in the same boat so I decided to talk to as much people as I could. People like nice people even if they wear weird clothes. And skirts are not all weird. Wear anything you want ( except maybe pyjamas, you might cause an uprising of students in PJs). Who cares what anyone thinks! ^_^

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    1. Though I'm only in a College of Further Education now, things can be a bit stressful. At least it will prepare me for college, right?

      I find making friends ever so hard. I feel like I don't have anything in common with anyone :( At least I'm not being bullied, though.

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  5. Okay so I don't quite get college? Is it the laste two years of school (before university) in Ireland? But your classes sound interesting? I hope it all goes well. Also hi five for wearing skirts! I love wearing skirts and wear skirts or dresses at least five days a week (usually with ridiculously brightly coloured tights. WEAR WHAT YOU WANT!

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    1. Hello Shanti!

      Sorry for not explaining things properly. In Ireland, Secondary school last for about 5 years (or 6 if you do Transition year which is optional and is between 3rd and Fourth year). In sixth year you do a big test called the Leaving Certificate and if you get the right amount of points for your course (or just a decent amount of points) you get into college. So after that is College.

      I didn't do well enough on my Leaving Cert so I now attend a College of Further Education which is one year before I get into proper college if I get at least 7 distinctions in 7 modules/classes/lectures.

      Yeah to skirts! *high fives* I'm a tomboy but I wear skirts all day everyday. They're so comfy! But I get a bit self conscious from time to time because I live in a country where it seems a little weird to wear skirts all the time. Thank God no one made fun of me for it *sigh*

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  6. Grace! I hope you are having a good weekend. "So I went to school and it turned out, nobody cared about how I dressed." This AND IT TURNED OUT moment happens to me so very, very frequently. When I stress about what to wear for so so long and then I go out AND IT TURNS OUT everything was always going to fine. And I'm like, come on, Emily, remember this next time. (Yet somehow I never do.)

    So, college. I find it BIZARRE that you still have compulsory subjects even though you have left school. In Scotland your last compulsory subject is English, which you have to do in your penultimate year when you're 16/17. That was my school, anyway, in some schools it's only compulsory until the year before that. But I know in America you still have to do a broad range at college ... Sounds like it's similar for you. Will you get to specialise soon? Do you know what you want to do?

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    1. It's annoying how I keep thinking people will make fun of my clothes! >.< Ugh.

      Oh, no. I'm not in proper college yet. You see, I didn't do quite well on my Leaving Certificate (I think it's like GCSEs or the exam after that?). So now I'm attending a College of Further Education. I have 9 modules and have to do 8 :/ So I need to get distinctions in almost all my modules in order for me to get into college. That's why I have to do some. Yeah...

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  7. Hello. I'm dropping in after seeing you comment on Emily's blog. (I'm trying to expand out to some new blogs.) Your college experience seems to be much different than my experience in an American college. How much lecture/classroom time is spent on each subject? Here, most students have four to six classes per semester, and each one has about three hours of lecture/classroom time per week. Also, what is learning Irish like? And is there something culturally strange regarding wearing skirts in Ireland?

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    1. Hey Patrick!

      Oh, no. I definitely didn't explain things properly. I'm not in 'proper' college, you see. I didn't do well enough on my college exam test so now I'm attending a college of further education. I need to do well in this college in order to make it to proper university. There are 9 modules (lectures) in my course but I need to do 8. However, I need to get distinctions in at least 7 to enter college.

      One hour is spent on most of my lectures.

      Learning Irish sucks to be honest. We are taught Irish when we start Primary (Elementary) school up to the last year in Secondary (High) School. However, there's not a lot of focus on grammar and actually SPEAKING it even though we're in Ireland. And yet we have to learn things like poems and stories for the Leaving Certificate. People need to go to Irish-only speaking schools and Irish summer schools to learn it properly. Or live in Connemara. But basically, most Irish people hate speaking Irish.

      Well, it's not bad to wear skirts but I wear skirts all the time (because of my faith) and most girls don't because it's kinda weird to dress up in the Western world in comparison to places like Nigeria and South Korea, y'know? And I feel like the odd one out.

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    2. So how long is this college of further education program? I did a little bit of research into education in Ireland, but it seems very different from how education is structured in America, and I can't say I grasp your system all too well. I've learned a few words in Welsh, but I probably won't attempt to learn much Irish. I think it looks cool, but it seems pretty complex, and it certainly sounds like it is. I've been studying French for a bit over five years, and I have a decent handle of it. My listening abilities still aren't great though. Girls don't wear skirts all too frequently here, but it's never seemed like an oddity to me. Then again, I'm a guy, so it may feel different for them. I personally really like skirts/dresses on girls, but I guess most girls feel more comfortable in jeans or sweat pants if they're being conservative at all.

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    3. Sorry, I didn't see this comment!

      The programme lasts for one year only. Mine is finished one (though I'll be attending another one in September).

      Yes, the education systems really differ from each other!

      I can say I'm a little similar when it comes to Spanish. Some accents are definitely easier to understand.

      It's true, sweat pants are so much more convenient but I don't really wear them nowadays.

      Delete
  8. So... I'm commenting at the end of the year (will I never get better at this? lol) to say: I hope college got TONS better for you! And wear whatever you want! I wear skirts a lot too, and I know that it makes me look way different and less fashionable than the people around me, and I'll admit it, some days I do care. But I'm trying not to, to be me and wear whatever makes me feel comfortable. :) Your skirts are none of their business anyway.


    Alexa
    thessalexa.blogspot.com
    verbosityreviews.com

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    1. It's okay xD

      Yes, I agree. It didn't really get better but thank you!

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Keep it all clean, man. Well, if you really wanna curse, use minor swear words. And I mean the minorest of minor ones.

"Or what?" you ask in indignation.

"Or else."