BWW Blog: Back to School - Managing Expectations

Freshman year of college is, to put it in a metaphorical position, like a stack of disorganized papers that you have to fit into one little tiny box. It seems as if it is quite literally impossible to organize into a concise enough stack to fit into this specific box. You have to decide what's important to keep and what to throw away, and you find you are too attached to the bigger things than perhaps realizing that the littlest pieces are what makes it count. You've shoved in all the eensy teensy details without taking the time to process them, and as you pick it apart and try to restack the papers you find things you forgot were there in the first place because the clutter overtook your space. How long have you had that syllabus and did you ever turn in that paper on that specific day? Where did all these sticky notes of self reminders come from? Whose peppermint gum wrappers are wedged in between the sheets? And why aren't there any dates on your papers?

The biggest mistake you can make as a college freshman is lacking management for your expectations. You should be setting goals and expectations for yourself, but too many a peer's far fetched dream have I watched shatter and crumble into dust over the past year and a half due to mismanagement and misorganization of these distant hopes. When it comes to college, it is absolutely acceptable to have an "end goal" for what you want to get out of college. After all, you're here to gain the proper education in order to succeed in society as part of the working force in your career path. This is very important for theatre majors, who often dream of being on Broadway either on the stage or backstage. You should keep dreaming of Broadway. But that is a long way away for a freshman theatre major who may just be starting out in the business.

The dream of Broadway should be a driving passion, but not an immediate goal. The success stories of those who make it onto Broadway without a college degree are a one in a million shot, and very rare in a realistic sense, and oftentimes those people had connections to people who were pre-existing in the industry in order to boost them up into those opportunities, and thus were in the right place at the right time. And believe me, we all want to have that kind of opportunity, and if you put in the patience and perseverance, it will come. Until then, it is a dream that you are working towards attaining. But how do we balance that dream with reality?

As I penned in my first article with BroadwayWorld, your first job in college is being a student. I'm a student in New York City, and I know for a fact that temptation is everywhere to try and break out into the industry, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You don't have to attend every open call to network your way into the industry. For the most part, your professors, advisors, and other academic colleagues are your first gateway into the business, and building those relationships can be incredibly fruitful for building connections.

When you are a freshman, you should spend your first year figuring out how college and adulting works best for you. I know that sounds absolutely silly and cliche, but this is likely a new process for you altogether. You have likely moved out of the house and into a dorm or an apartment, into a new room with a roommate who might not like the Rodgers and Hammerstein vinyl records you blast at ungodly hours of the night, or share your appreciation for Patti LuPone as Mama Rose, or even worse: not know who Barbra Streisand is. You have to figure out how to find the balance in your life.

Managing expectations may be easier said than done, but I would advise you to take every idea you had about how your freshman year will go and throw it out the window. It will not go one bit in any direction that you dreamed it would. You are going to hit multiple walls and then work yourself into a depression when you find that your expectations for how your first year will go falls apart at your feet. Sounds harsh, but it's true. Instead, start by setting up little expectations and goals for yourself. The moment you get your syllabi for each class you should be taking pictures of it with your phone, because if you lose that bad boy, you are going to find yourself in hot water. That's a good place to start. Put all of those dates into both a physical calendar and on your phone. I like to go into my iPhone's calendar app and put every single due date in my phone with alerts and reminders so that when I wake up every morning and read my emails, etc. I set reminders of when a certain paper is due or when my class is going to meet at a different location, and it helps me immensely with keeping myself grounded.

Please do try to set yourself a budget for spending money, and be reasonable. If you have a job, think in terms of hours when you're going to spend money. Say that you work 10 hours a week for $10 an hour, theoretically, then you get $100 a month. If you want to buy a student rush ticket to Waitress, which is $42 at the box office, ask yourself if it's worth 4+ hours of work (I know, tough choice). If it is, then by all means go ahead, but if you can go a while without seeing Waitress, then you should save the money.

Buying food is difficult because it depends on your dining plan and also whether or not you have access to a kitchen. If you have access to a kitchen, I'd advise cooking a lot of your own food and setting aside a budget for groceries. I personally cook nearly all of my own meals. It's amazing how many meals you can make from a loaf of bread or eggs (or both). If you are on a dining plan, be smart. Eat things that are good for your body but don't dip too far into your savings. You need to stretch your dining dollars for the semester, after all! I never ran out of my dining dollars because I only ever purchased the bare minimum of what I needed and still took care of my body the best that I could without having to sacrifice my well being. There are ways to be healthy and wise for your budget at the same time without sacrificing one or the other.

You should be setting yourself little goals and reward yourself when you achieve these goals. Set yourself realistic goals: If I finish this paper and get it proofread, I can treat myself to a night out, or a meal at my favorite restaurant, or anything of the sort that brings you absolute joy. Don't do anything that wouldn't make yourself proud. You shouldn't be attending school to please anyone but yourself. And by that you need to perform self care that isn't counter productive. I wholeheartedly believe in treating yourself when you're going through a hard time, but don't sacrifice the meaning of that self-care when you do it too often or not for the right reasons. Self-discipline is the key in this instance; by setting and achieving these little goals that boost your confidence and performance as a student, you better your own work ethic and make yourself far more appealing to professors and your colleagues alike.

Continue to dream big the rest of your freshman year, and sophomore, junior, and senior years. Dream of Broadway, dream of Tony speeches and awards to decorate your shelves, because one day, you absolutely can achieve that. You should dream as far as the stars above, but in order to stay grounded, you need to tether yourself to managing your expectations on how you are going to get there. There is no correct path to Broadway, and there is no right or wrong way to achieve it if you put in the hard work and possess the correct ethic and dedication to achieving it and making it your reality. After all, all of those Broadway stars you look up to and admire started with a dream, and look how far it got them. Your dedication and patience will pay off.

Focus on finding you first, college freshmen of today and tomorrow. Find how you fit into your own puzzle piece pathway, and you will go far. It all just starts with baby steps.