irvin-85The line “The top gets higher the more that I climb” is one of my favorite strings of words and it is a reflection of the environment in which the college student finds himself or herself.

As you enter college, everything changes. As I mentioned in the previous post, your own expectations change and along with that change, comes the expectations of the institution of which you are a part of. You were offered the opportunity to be in a institution of higher learning because throughout high school, you displayed the ability to meet and exceed expectations both locally (high school grades) and nationally (standardized tests). Now that you are here, you have to conform to new, higher academic expectations.

Academically, the expectations of college are a bit hard to get used to. You are in a whole new game with people of equal or even more intellectual capacity as you, which in itself is intimidating. The college offered you admission because they saw that you have the potential to rise to the expectations of the institution and now that you are here, they expect you to perform. The rigor of the classes is set up in a way that you are challenged, for we do not grow intellectually if we are not challenged. The teachers know your potential and it is their goal to have you carry out your potential to the fullest. They will try and make you write better, solve math problems faster, think more analytically and critically, all of this in each class.

Once you have achieved a certain level, guess what, there is still more to learn. You can always improve your writing, solve a problem faster, develop a new idea and find a new solution to the problems of the world. It is because of this constant strive for excellence that colleges become so well known and students become better, learned individuals. It is this intellectual environment which I love.

In high school, there was always an easy class in which you could do everything last minute and still get that desired A. Do not be surprised by the fact that there is no such class in college. There might be classes that do not require an immense amount of work, but they still require time and effort. There are no easy A’s in college; you have to work for each and every grade that you earn. Also, do not be surprised by the expectations of a teacher. No class is impossible; teachers are not out there to fail you. Rather, what they want is for you to truly learn the material since that is the core of their job. An advisor phrased it in the following way “Teachers do not give our grades, they could care less about that. What they care about the most is the knowledge that they instill in the minds of young people.”

As you progress through college, you realize that there is something else to strive for. The world needs young intellectuals to solve its problems and there is no better way to prepare that new wave of young talent than by raising the expectations time and time again. You will realize, as I have, that once you reach a goal, a new one arises and that the more that you climb up the intellectual ladder, the summit gets higher and your desire to get there gets bigger.

On another note, Halloween in college is kinda crazy. But that is a totally different subject haha.