Being Afraid of School

I have had that feeling several times in my life. And was afraid even to admit it the way you have bravely done. Graduation from High School is the closest thing to a rite of passage in our culture that other cultures throughout history have that are more defined, when you pass from childhood to manhood. Its scary being out “on your own”, and it is comfortable living at home. I remember walking around campus afraid I wouldn’t be accepted, all my friends were elsewhere, I was in an unfamiliar town, I felt like a finger that’s wrapped in a Bandaid for a week and you pull it off and it feels “naked”… And you know what I made new friends, I studied and I did very well, partially because I applied myself because of that fear of failure. I felt it again when I was appointed to a job I wasn’t sure I could handle, I went off to an Academy for 4 months away from my family in a very unfamiliar environment where they really did test you as a person as well as teach. And I found myself among some of the most intelligent and tremendously talented group of individuals I’d ever been around, “could I do it?” “Was I worthy?” I remember sitting on the end of my bed in the “first semester” of that Academy thinking “what have I gotten myself into?” And after 25 years I found I not only was qualified for that career, I was very good at it. And the first semester of college is a tough one anyway, many of your classmates will be weeded out. Knowing that, fore go some of the parties,do enjoy yourself some, just don’t make it a nightly thing. It is sometimes easy when there is no supervision - parents aren’t there- to go out and party with the new friend you make. Spend time on your studies, work at it and you’ll find you can and will do it. Fear is a healthy emotion. It will make you work a little harder and soon you’ll find that you can do it. There is nothing magical about college courses, they will teach you cause you to think and if you study, you’ll find some new paths that you might not have known existed for you. Enjoy - and I won’t say good luck, because you make your own luck. Enjoy your college experience and make your mark in whatever career path you choose.