College Life (In Reality)

I've been to college for the past 2 years, but i never knew how much reading was required in some classes. Just to let you know what I'm talking about, I took 5 upper division psychology classes. When i first signed up for them, I thought, "I've been doing this for quite a while... it should be a piece of cake." Was I ever wrong. So far, I've probably read at least 100 pages between the different books I have and it's only the 3rd day back! Most teachers give out the syllabus, tell you the course requirements, but don't assign too much at the very beginning. I guess the further you go, the more they expect and the less slack time you have. I really am going to be spending 30 hours on homework each week. Usually, I could get off with not reading one of my textbooks or only taking a few notes... Not anymore. And I'm here to compete. I want to get the top grades, I want the satisfaction of knowing that I gave it my best. I'm just worried that I won't have time for anything else (as if I did before).

One thing I've noticed about college though is that it's helped me figure out what I really want out of life. Yes, I would love a rewarding career in psychology someday, but first, I want to have a family. I'll continue to go to school, continue to learn, continue with my life's path that I've created. There just might be a few bumps and turns along the way. It scared me at first that I might veer away from my goals, but now, I realize that I have my entire lifetime to complete them. And I have a long time to live, if I don't die tragically in some way or another (keep my fingers crossed).

I'm overwhelmed by the loads of information that are crashing around me. The hippocampus does this... the olfactory system is related to psycholgy in this way... There are so many things that i have to memorize, which is a big deal for me. I'm not so great at memorizing, and if I can, it takes me a long time. Usually at least double that of normal people. I learn, I can tell you about different theories and who created them, but I don't memorize easily. It's been quite a struggle actually not to be able to with so much schooling that I'm planning on doing. I need to work on that. Maybe this semester will help a little bit.

For anyone who has left for college, good luck. I sure hope you're not taking as difficult a schedule as me. I don't know how I'm going to find all the time to do everything I need to. I wish sleep wasn't necessary, or else I'd have plenty of time, but it is, so I don't. Now, I just need to find a good part time job that I can balance with my reading, homework, and schedule. Ugh... that should be exciting.