• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » No, I’m Not Your TA: Navigating College as an Undergrad at 25
Life

No, I’m Not Your TA: Navigating College as an Undergrad at 25

Facebook Tweet
Kelsie Qua   February 21, 2018

You’re starting your first day at your dream school, just a few years later than most students. But you don’t think that’ll be an issue.

Not until you walk into class on your first day and everybody thinks you’re the TA.

If I summed up my first semester at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in one word, I’d choose doubt. Self-doubt. Sure, I’d expected a hard transition. That doesn’t mean anyone prepared me for the nagging feeling that I didn’t belong which greeted me as soon as I arrived.

Why did all my classmates already know who Chaucer was? Had everyone memorized Hamlet’s “To Be Or Not To Be” speech but me? Was there a secret list of English major prerequisites I’d missed on the application? And why did everyone around me look so young ?

I spent two years earning my associate degree at a community college. Enough extracurricular activities padded my UNC application to comfortably pad the resumes of a small country if divvied up. Fear of feeling like a fraud? From my naive point of view, that didn’t happen to people who transferred to Chapel Hill with high honors.

Then I arrived on campus and realized my naïveté. While my community college encouraged diversity, four-year universities bred homogeny. So what if I spent years as a working adult before coming here? 18 to 22-year-old valedictorians who spent summers abroad volunteering surrounded me. My background as a 25-year-old undergrad from the small town of Clayton, North Carolina seemed mediocre in comparison.

Before I arrived, I thought I was special. I dreamed UNC would be a utopia where I’d finally find my people. Instead, during my first week the only person I befriended was a 17 year-old who asked me on a date (I turned them down for obvious reasons). Everywhere I went I felt either far too old or far too unlearned. Without anyone around to remind me, I forgot how hard I worked to earn my place at UNC.


trending

307

10 Student Organizations Breaking the Mold at Berkeley

231

The Teacher I Hated Changed my College Journey

168

Top 10 Spots Around Emerson College to Get Inspired


I only began to find my stride again by the end of the first semester. Countless trips to the Writing Center and office hours helped me succeed. With my professor’s guidance, I learned that writing a summary of a poem is not the same as analyzing it. I also figured out that though I didn’t study the English canon in high school, my non-traditional background gave me other advantages. Maybe I couldn’t name any William Blake poems, but I loved creative, out-of-the-box analysis. My professors cared more about that about my over-arching knowledge of Romantic poets.

Over time, my social life began to improve, as well. Reaching out to other transfer students, I realized they often felt as out of place as I did. Soon, weekly pizza dates at Mellow Mushroom with friends burrowed into my schedule. I also connected to international students and began planning a semester abroad.

Despite my timidity, I also learned to interact with grad students and professors. Many of them seemed as eager to get to know me as I was to get to know them. They also encouraged me to pursue assignments I was really passionate about.

It took a lot—a lot—of adjusted expectations but I can say, with effort, I’ve started to make UNC feel like home.

Though my transition here has been difficult, looking back if I had a choice to do it all again, I would. Facing my fears has given me self-confidence I never could’ve gained staying back in Clayton. So many opportunities wait here at UNC for students, from studying creative writing with famous authors to experiencing Franklin Street on Halloween. And amazingly, they’re all open to me even if I still don’t fully understand The Canterbury Tales.

About Kelsie Qua

Ant-Man Opens the Doors for Marvel’s New Phase

10 Boba Tea Spots for Houston College Students

10 Ways to Have Fun with Your Friends Indoors

Do You Actually Care, Or Do You Want to Look Like You Do?

unsplash.com

Top Ten Inspirational Quotes from Your Favorite Sports TV Shows

I lived with my three best friends. Here’s how it went.

21 Things to Do in Williamsburg When You’re Under 21

The Beauty and Pain of Living Alone

Was There a Purpose for That Roommate Questionnaire?

Previous Post:The Best Thing About Having a Crappy Freshman Year Roommate
Next Post:Career Development: Life Hack Your Way to Your Dream Job

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding