I've been having issues with my current main characters, the issue is that they're all college aged, the setting of the story is a community college. But I'm a teenager, so obviously I'm not going to write them as well as a adult, but I'm wondering if anyone has tips for this struggle?
As a college-age kid, almost everything that I feel is the exact same in high school, except I just don't take drama nearly as seriously. Also, my parents tell me that they're in their 40s and 50s and are still pretending to know what's going on. We're all winging it lol.
if there's any more specific questions you needed answered I can try to help.
Following in case bc I’m an old one.
.jpg)
Also college-aged and willing to answer questions.
Like as I've gotten older, I've improved skills, become more confident, and become better at making decisions, but it's not anything drastic.
College/college age is kind of a place and time where people are becoming themselves, discovering things about themselves they wouldn't have under the strict influence of their parents, etc.
It's coming of age, but not the awkward high school coming of age.
Some things I've been wondering about is, what is really like to be in college? What is the typical day-to-day stuff for some students? How different is it to interact with others as an adult? And what are some of the biggest differences between young adults and teens?
(Sorry if this is too many questions to answer, i just want to be able to grasp this topic.)
College is pretty chill. You're not in classes all day. You'll go to classes and then in between work on assignments or hang out with friends, or go grab something to eat.
Some students do work in addition to school. I did for a time, and it's super stressful because you feel like you get no free time and no rest.
As a young adult, interactions with other adults are also a lot more chill. You just talk to them like they're… regular people, even if they're your superior in some way, like your professor or your boss. It's not uncommon to befriend a professor. As for interacting with those your age, it's honestly about the same as it's always been.
As I mentioned before, being a young adult, I'd say the biggest difference is confidence and understanding who you are, more or less. You're going to start worrying more about adult things like finances and your future. Also college students are at super high risk for mental illness onset, so many people who were mentally healthy earlier in life may start to have problems when they get to college.
college is high school but chill and the teachers also don't want to be there at 8:00am and are willing to admit it. A lot of college kids struggle because they have to be on their own and self direct, so things like going to class and be can be hard cause no one tells you to do them and you're the one accountable. No one's going to call your parents for truancy in college, so some people simply stop going to class and start failing. Tie that with work and college can be very stressful, but it's also fun. You get a great deal of freedom and can expand your views, as cheesy as it sounds. Being an adult means making hard decisions, but also realizing that you're an adult, no one can say you can't buy that toy or icecream.
Adding on to the mental health thing Bec mentioned, a lot of mentally healthy people are that way because their family is their support system. Being in college means being away from that system, which can cause a lot of "late-blooming" mental health issues.
Uhh, daily schedules… Mine is scuffed cause I'm a senior, but I have very spread-out classes on mwf, and then no classes on tues and one outlier 8:00am lab on thurs. Classes aren't in days like hs can be, its more of a bunch of crammed together separate schedules and classes, which can cause weird gaps. At first you have to take a lot of general education classes, and as a freshman, you usually get last pick which means undesirable times like early mornings. As you go one in years you get more specialized classes (such as me going from drawing, algebra, english, etc. to things like ceramics studio and advanced art classes).
…Oh crap I forgot my MCs are supposed to also have school-
Uhhh, at what age does one start college/uni? >_>
Usually around 18, though that varies some. And I mean, not all people choose to go to college or even can go to college, so you don't have to include that.
Some states let you start at 16 to get a head start.
It's not a law thing either. Like if you skip grades you might start sooner. If you have financial struggles, started school late, failed a grade, or need to take time off, you can start later. 18 is just the average in the US at least.
a lot of schools have "AP" classes that can count as college credit or let seniors take college classes.