I suppose that calling University level work (particularly at BYU, which is on the same plane as Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Stanford) “easy” is incorrect. It’s not easy, but it’s manageable, much more so than when I was in High School. The dynamic is nowhere near as high as High School. The demands are much more manageable. The focus and intensity demanded for success is basically the same, but focus and intensity are habits. When developed and maintained, they serve you unfailingly with little personal expense for upkeep. So, in that sense, higher education is easier than in High School. I am no longer experiencing the growing pains and refinement of high intensity, but enjoying the blessings that come from having already been there, applied myself, and learned how to work hard without undue stress, anxiety, or fear. It does help that I have developed a very structured time management system, too, however that is a direct byproduct of having been through a crucible of self-discipline, so I suppose that I can still attribute this organization to a thorough, grueling, refining experience prior to coming to the university.

Either way, regardless of why or how I’m surviving here at College, I think that my theory of educational climbs holds true. In pre-school, I remember hearing how Kindergarten would be very hard and I would have to really apply myself to be successful. Going into Jr. High I heard horror stories about how they only accept cursive, how teachers would yell if you turned things in late, and how if you left your name off an assignment they would scream in peals of laughter and make you take some kind of walk of shame. High School was painted in a similar light, albeit a few hues darker. Finally, teachers wouldn’t even talk about college experiences, leaving mere suggestions that professors consumed the souls of their students for breakfast, and that it was common for students to collapse with exhaustion while on the way to class from sheer mental duress. I first postulated that these claims made by my instructors were a little far-fetched and even outright untrue on my first day of Jr. High and solidified this claim further when I entered High School. Although somewhat wary of university life, I have watched closely for incongruence between what is told by teachers of university life and what it is actually like. I’m pleased to say that the postulation holds true. We’ll see if it’s just the first week and a half of school, or if I’m right again.