A College Athlete's Big Question - by Sarah Policano (Bucknell University)

Transitions from High School to College for Students and Athletes

“Who am I?” a question that nearly all contemplate, yet may never be fully answered. We often think we know the answer to this by providing generic answers such as a profession, sport, hobby, or interest, but these answers do not fully encapsulate who we are. Our lives are constantly changing as we transition from different eras in our lives. 

With every life change, we are greeted by a mixture of excited and anxious feelings. In particular, the transition from high school to college is one of the most exciting yet anxiety inducing moments. For many, going to college is just a step in life to becoming an adult and finding your path and interests, but that is not to say it is an easy step. We leave familiar places and friends behind to meet new people and find new places to call home as we develop new aspects of ourselves. People often refer to college as a time to find yourself and answer that question of “who am I?”. However, many individuals struggle with this change and struggle to find themselves as they are faced with one of the first major changes in their lives. 

So, how do we deal with these feelings of uncertainty and anxiety? In the Mental Health University podcast episode, “Student-Athletes Making the Leap from High School to College Sports,” Dr. Joel Ingersoll and I discuss how we can deal with stressful transitions. In particular, this episode suggests that transitions and the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety that come with such changes are normal and something that everyone deals with. 

To focus on the incoming student-athlete, for me this transition was, “a mixture of overwhelming and exciting” feelings. “It was exciting in the sense that you go to college and compete on a bigger level, but the transition was a tough one. Everything is new, everything changes, and everything hits you all at once.” This transition was especially difficult for me because “I didn't feel great with training or competing.” When this happens, “it's easy to think you’re not good anymore…but you have to get used to the new environment” and take it easy on yourself in such a difficult and unfamiliar time. It took me a really long time to start giving myself some grace for not being the perfect athlete immediately because I didn’t realize how much of a change going from high school to college was for me. I also forgot that you go to college to develop, not to continue to be the same person and athlete you once were. Dr. Ingersoll shares that, “that idea about, ‘okay, I'm going to college to be an athlete,’ it's really about committing to the mindset of being an athlete in development. People go to college to develop, they go to develop as a person. I wonder if it's a healthier way for athletes to look at that to shift the pressure they put on themselves.” We agreed that there is great value in having the perspective of, “okay, I'm going to go to this new place and develop my skills overtime,” not believing that you’ll automatically be able to improve or perform the same as you had in high school. 

Furthermore, having and enduring these struggles provides “great value in embracing the struggle and being okay with it, it's normal.” Dr. Ingersoll and I discussed that “when you're struggling it often feels like the end of the world, but we learn a lot from difficult experiences,” maybe even more than we do from good experiences. When you struggle, “a person has the opportunity to get in touch with who they are and who they can be and tap into strengths they've maybe never recognized and gain clarity into how that potentiates success in their lives across the board.” It can be hard to realize this though because during tough times “people have a lot of negative self-talk. If we can rephrase that to be, ‘I'm just learning this is my first time doing something and I'll learn for next time’” then we can give ourselves a break and understand that difficult times allow us to grow.

For the high school grad who might be leaving behind key parts of their identity such as playing a sport, they can be left “in somewhat of an existential crisis.” Something that was essential to how we view ourselves is now a distant memory. The transition is tricky and “it's a learning experience of figuring out what works for you” and “like anything else it takes a little practice.” My advice if this sounds like your situation is to get involved in an intramural sport and join some on campus organizations. This not only helps you hold onto a former passion of yours, but it allows you to experience new activities you may enjoy and meet new people.

When we arrive at college, we also struggle with day to day life changes. Going to college means more freedom, less structure, and changes in routines, social life, nutrition, sleep schedules, and mental health. There’s a lot of basic changes to our everyday life which range from the fact that “you're living in a dorm, you're not eating home cooked meals, or you’re probably not sleeping well enough.” For most this is the first time individuals live life without parents and teachers to enforce healthy schedules and routines. Life can get pretty overwhelming and uncertain fast in this environment. 

More on the note of managing life once we get to college, Dr. Ingersoll suggests that “once a student leaves highschool there are a number of factors that help them get through it and one of those things is structure. They spend 35 hours a week in school and there's structure built into their daily schedule.” In college, there is much less structure for students and first year students tend to struggle with time management as a result. I found that the key to organizing day to day schedules was to “focus on front loading your work during the day,” meaning do as much as you can as early as possible. Also, using calendars, planners, or reminders to keep yourself on track is useful for organization. My experience as a student-athlete has aided in being organized as I have more structure than regular college students. My advice to those not involved in sports is to really focus on maintaining a daily schedule that you’ve created yourself. Add in some extracurricular activities to get involved and this will also provide more structure.

So, for the athlete coming out of high school and entering college, my advice is to “have an open mind and be open to new experiences…College is a time to find yourself and your passions.” Another key piece of advice is to get through “the challenge of sitting with uncertainty. There’s a real low tolerance for that,” but this is essential to making transitions as successful as they can be. We also suggest that before entering college, don’t stress about the rest of your life and be present in the moment. Oftentimes, when you enter college, it’s easy to think you need to have your whole life planned out. Going back to our development point, college is a time to find your passions, not follow some strict path on the way to a profession your 18 year old self chose. Dr. Ingersoll shares insight into this as he reflects on his transition to college. He shares that, “the fantasy that I held in high school about what I want to be and what I want to do for the rest of my life was nothing short of imploded when I got to college.” I can say the same for myself. It's nerve wracking to not know what the future holds or what it’ll look like, but if we go in with an open mind and allow ourselves to be comfortable with discomfort, we can have the most success in figuring out our futures and ambitions.

By: Sarah Policano (Bucknell University)