loneliness and sadness in the beginning. She stated that she longed for the comfort of home, and had to get used to the social scene of college. She says that she still hasn’ t found a close group of friends at college to relate to, and at times feels isolated. The transitioning social scene is one of the biggest changes from high school to college. While some can adapt quickly, others take longer to find their place, and this time spent searching is often lonely and sad.
As a whole, Emma stated that college does not directly cause sadness, but causes factors that can increase sadness. When asked, she said that she has become very slightly sadder since high school, and still functions in largely the same way.
My oldest sister, Avery, is finishing up her third semester of college. She goes to school at Columbia College in Chicago, pursuing a degree in music business management. She also stated that college has a lot more to do with stress than sadness. She stated that sadness is a weird thing, and has a lot of external factors, adding that she’ s not sure that college is one of those factors. Avery did also mention depression and having a chemical imbalance. She has suffered from bouts of depression in the past, and it seems she has carried them with her into college. Avery agreed with Emma’ s statement that college creates stress which can lead to sadness. But Avery’ s stress seems to come more from her obligations; between internships, her social life, and feeling the need to have a full schedule and graduate quickly, she is about as busy as a person can be. This overwhelming schedule creates a lot of stress and pressure in her everyday life, which certainly contributes to sadness, though is not the only factor.
The other major thing that Avery said about college and stress is the obligation
to do what your parents think is best for you. Avery has two bands, and dreams of
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