Ah the Mid-College Crisis! That abominable feeling that sweeps you off your feet at the halfway point of college, with the realisation that you’re almost out in the real world, fending for yourself. It’s the sudden and rapid understanding that you’ve already wasted half your time in college dossing around and partying it up while real world responsibilities fast approach. Such a crisis can be a wake-up call for the wise, or a bleak truth for those unfortunate students who have some catching up to do. But what do to when you’re hit with this sudden anxiety? What can help get you back on track to becoming a fully functioning member of our society? I’ve trailed the depths of the internet and compiled a list of tips to help you figure out your mid-college crisis!
- Talk it out
Before you go into panic-mode, try talking things out with some mates or a close confident. It could be that you’re overthinking things and you’re more than adequately prepared to smash those finals and get out there in the real world. Another perspective can help out a lot! Alternatively, if your suspicions are true and you’re ripening up to flop after graduation day, formulating some plans with some friends can help combat things in advance. If your mates are in the same boat, you can either push each other towards healthy adulthood together, or continue ‘seshing’ and fail together – either way it seems like a good time. Not that I’m suggesting an active social life is contributory to ultimate college failure, but everything in moderation tends to be a good idea, right?
2. Academic Advisor
If your fears are academically based, perhaps try talking with your Student Advisor. Each faculty branch has their own dedicated advisor, ready to help you out with any queries. UCDSU also has its doors open if you’re in need of academic advice. Sometimes academic work can get the better of us: assignments piling up, exams looming, and it seems like there’s no way you’re getting all that done on top of all the other demands and commitments in your life. If you’re at that mid-point in college and are feeling the struggle of such responsibilities, it may be time to talk to somebody who has the expertise to guide you through this crisis.
3. Take Care
If you’ve hit your mid-college crisis and you feel like life’s going at a mile-a-minute, slow down there partner! Whatever it is that’s occupying your time, whether seemingly productive or not, without taking some time to yourself to stop and think retrospectively on the path you’re charging down, this crisis may persist. These kinds of thoughts and anxieties don’t just go away on their own, or overnight too. Take some time to get longer sleeping hours, switch off from social media and consider your direction in college and after. Some self-introspection can go a long way when dealing with a mid-college crisis.
4. Take Control
It may be time to make some tough choices. If you’ve reached this mid-point in college and have enjoyed yourself, but something is niggling in the back of your mind telling you: ‘it’s time to start doing something productive with my time,’ perhaps it’s time to stop ignoring that voice and confront the issue at hand. You have a general goal after college, but you’re not sure if you’re current commitments will get you there, maybe it’s time to make some difficult choices: take up an internship on the weekends, take less time for socialising and more time on academics, surround yourself with individuals who share your motivation for self-betterment. Alternatively, one way to take control can be to take a step back. Some commitments can be simply too much, and at the end of the day, your priority is you. Take responsibility for your actions and choices, understand their long-term outcomes, and change your behaviour today, so that you will benefit and flourish as an adult tomorrow.
5. Anticipate Life’s Shortfalls
One final piece of advice centres on your expectations for college and beyond. It’s not uncommon to have a mid-college crisis stemming from lack of met expectations. All that people talked it up to be, and this is it? This fear that soon you’ll be out in the real world and you’ve yet to undergo some kind of metamorphic transformation into adulthood. Don’t worry too much, maybe you’ve matured greatly prior to college, or perhaps you’re a late bloomer. It’s important to remember that even if you’re expectations have been met from college, and you do feel prepared to get out there in the real world, don’t think it’s going to be fairyland out there. A dangerous way through the mid-college crisis is an expectation that you’ll somehow get through this and be unstoppable. It’s unlikely you’ll come out as the formidable and career driven person you aspire to be, but that’s ok! Part of getting through the mid-college crisis is accepting your fallibility and acknowledge that you’re going to suffer life’s shortfalls. Without accepting this, you’ll only slide into a similar state of internal affairs in your mid-twenties and you’ll be back where you started.
I hope these tips have been somewhat useful to you! I’m no expert nor am I some kind of life-coach guru. These are the most effective tips I’ve compiled from various books and online sources. Best of luck getting through your mid-college crisis and reaching the real world in one piece!
By Conor Capplis – Features Editor
