Thread: 1st day of school jitters/anxiety/meltdown
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1st day of school jitters/anxiety/meltdown
Posted : 19 Sep, 2010 01:26 PM
I'm having so much anxiety right now about starting school tomorrow. I don't know what's wrong w/ me; I don't remember having this much anxiety 13 years ago when I was a freshman.
I'm just so overwhelmed and don't know what to do. I haven't looked at a fashion/beauty magazine in forever and don't even know what I should look like for tomorrow morning. Is curly hair even in right now? My hair is naturally curly but maybe I should straighten it. And what if my morning sickness is too bad to even leave the house tomorrow? Or, what if I throw up in front of everyone in class? And I have like a gazillion messenger bags and big purses and a backpack, but I don't know which one to use. I don't know if I should go w/ something trendy and young to blend in, or if I should go w/ something more mature since I am 31 and older than probably almost everybody on campus. And is it okay to not wear makeup? Will people think I'm a slob if I don't wear it? And I don't know what I should wear... Jeans and a sweater maybe... ? I'm so fat and ugly in everything right now. I wish I could just wear a barrel to class. And what if nobody talks to me? Or what if too many talk to me and they all think I'm weird? And what if I'm just too stupid to do this? I mean, I haven't been to college in 10 years. Maybe I've lost some intelligence?
On the upside, I discovered that they have a Campus Crusade for Christ chapter on this campus, which I was really excited about. But I emailed the club president on Thursday to get details and she hasn't emailed me back yet =( Maybe I came across sounding totally weird?
You'll be just fine. Your mind is just going a little bit crazy on you. One of my favorite people in my classes is a woman named Carol in her 40s. She's always so nice. I don't think anyone thinks that it's weird that she is older. Whatever you do, don't try to change your clothes or pretend that you're 18 again. Just go to class to learn. Wear what you would normally wear and be nice to people. That's all you have to do.
Pixy, take a deep breath...hold it...now let it out slowly while thinking "I CAN do this." Alright. Now that you are calm...
College is a big step no matter what age you are. I teach college, so I get to see a lot of different students and different ages. A couple years ago, we had a student graduate who was in her 70s. I'm not kidding. Our youngest student is 16. So don't you worry about being a little bit older than some of the students, because you'll probably be a little bit younger than others!
Attire, makeup, and hair...dress comfortably. Seriously. A lot of students don't bother with their appearance at all. (I have students show up to class in their pjs...it's against the rules, though, so I send them back to their dorm room to change!) And makeup? Who has time for that? lol If you want to wear makeup, go for it; if you don't have time or don't want to, don't worry about it at all. As for hair, I think that just about any style is accepted right now. Curly, straight, long, short, spiked, teased, pink, purple, rainbow...it really doesn't matter!
When choosing a bag, pick one that is comfortable to carry or roll, and that will hold all your stuff. Trendy is not important. Functional IS. If you will be carrying around a laptop, make sure that the bag is padded or buy a padded laptop sleeve to protect it.
Now, how to handle the morning sickness. I've never been pregnant, so I don't know exactly how that will affect your schedule. BUT, one of my closest friends was pregnant my sophomore year of college, and this is what she did: she scouted out the nearest restroom to each of her classes, then she sat as close to the door as possible. When she had to get up and run for it, she always made it in plenty of time. She also made an appointment with each teacher, and explained her situation...they were all very understanding and did not mind the mad rush from class that happened about once per week for the first 3 months of the semester.
I hope this will help you! Just don't panic! It'll be ok, and by the time you get a couple weeks into the semester or quarter, you'll be adjusted to the routine.
Let me know if you need any advice or suggestions! Professor BC at your service!
Thanks to the both of you so much for responding. Spending some time in the Word and then reading what you've both written here has really helped me to reassure me and calm me down.
Regarding the morning sickness, those are some good suggestions =) The 2 classes I'm taking on campus are right next to each other coincidentally, so I should only need to scope out 1 bathroom there. I'm going to pull up a campus map in a bit to see if it shows where the bathrooms are! And I'll email or talk to the professors too... That may be a little awkward, but it would be better than them wondering why I'm running out of the room!
I'll update this tomorrow evening after school with what will hopefully be a good report!
You don't have to go into detail about the pregnancy or the morning sickness with your professors. All they need to know is that you are x number of weeks pregnant, and that you apologize in advance for any mad dashes from the room...you've been struggling with morning sickness. They don't need to know more, in my opinion.
pixy... take a deep breath... now another... your going to be fine... your going to do fine... in fact from what I've seen of your personality on these forums I would be comfortable in saying you will be better than fine!
I am 33 and back in school myself... if I can do it I know you can too. The best advice I can give you is the advice already given. Don't try to be someone you are not. Just be your self and you'll do wonderful.
I don't know what classes your taking but if you ever need someone to talk to about stresses of class or someone to help with homework or studying I'm willing to help when and where I can.
Good luck! (though I'm sure you will not need it) just don't get hung up on the "what ifs" and other insecurities... you are an amazing person and you will be awesome!:peace:
Best of luck. The big mistake I made was never going to college. After being out of work since April of last year and always having low paying jobs I have finally desided to go to college to better my life and to meet people. It scares me to death with how much school has changed in 15 years but I know in the long run it will be for the better.
Yesterday turned out fine but it was a long, crazy day and I was super exhausted by the time I finally got home @ quarter after 7. Iwent to bed @ 8 after a quick dinner... forgetting to even take my asthma medication and leaving my contacts on + eye makeup in (very bad combination). Had yucky eyes and lungs this morning =( And have a really nasty cold or something too.
But I didn't throw up at school at all =) I felt sick to my tummy the whole time, but it wasn't too bad!
I touched base over email w/ the lady from Campus Crusade for Christ (don't think I even mentioned that in my last post) and will be going to a women's Bible study every Tuesday probably. IF I can find parking, because parking was INSANE yesterday morning. It took me nearly 45 minutes to find parking and it ended up being a spot off campus. A lot of yesterday was waiting in line... for my grant check, for my ID card, to talk to a financial aid advisor, at the bookstore, etc. And I ran errands too. B/w only sleeping like 2 hours the night before (nerves + cough), being pregnant, and having a really long day, I was so exhausted. I don't even remember the last time I was that exhausted!
I ended up using a purse that was too small probably. Will convert to something more practical for tomorrow =) And my hair ended up being pyscho because I wore it down and it was REALLY windy. By the time I got to class and looked in my little mirror, I looked like a freak. I put it up into the world's messiest topknot, but it still looked pretty bad :goofball: But whatever! At least my makeup and clothes looked nice... LOL I wore jeans w/ a brown camisole and matching hooded cardigan sweater and brown suede flip flops and a really pretty, chunky turquoise necklace that people always compliment me on =) You know what, though... I was just so glad to actually find parking and to not be puking, that those things actually didn't matter as much as I thought they would to me =)
