As my freshman year comes to a close, I want to reflect on some of the life lessons I have learned in college thus far. I may still have three years left but I am a much different person than I was one year ago. I have grown so much by being away from home and on my own. I had to learn some things the hard way, but I know that everything that college is teaching me about life will prepare me for the real world. Here are some valuable lessons I hope to retain as I grow up:

1. Independence

Being in college for one full year now has taught me to do things on my own. I never used to go anywhere without a friend but now I can eat in a restaurant by myself, which is something that others still refuse to do. I need to have time alone in order to decompress, but I used to never feel that way.

2. How procrastination affects your success

Procrastinating is something that I always tend to do. However, it is something that has really affected my success in school. If I wait until the last minute to cram for an exam, I don’t do very well — same with papers and homework. Assignments take time. Whenever I am pressed for time, I don’t put my full effort into my work. It is better to finish assignments early and then have free time to do stuff that I enjoy.

3. Hard work pays off

The harder you work, the better your grades will be. It's much more rewarding to work hard and do well than to avoid your work and do badly.

4. Sacrifice

Sometimes you have to give up a $2 Tuesday to study for your exam or catch up on homework. Even though all your friends are going, you know you need to prioritize. College is about sacrifice a lot of the time. For example, you can choose three of the following: Good grades, enough sleep, a social life, or a job. But you likely can’t have them all.

5. Balance

As I mentioned with sacrifice, you can’t have everything in college. But you can have more than one thing — it is all a balancing act. Too much of one thing is never good, so everything must be in moderation. You just have to try to figure out what works for you. What works for someone else may not be the best option for you.

6. Health is important

Mental and physical health are beyond important priorities. You need to feel well all-around to perform at your best. Sometimes, you might need a break from school to gather your thoughts and reevaluate what takes priority in your life — whether that be a weekend or a semester or even a full year, do what you need to do to feel great.

7. Time management

Prioritizing is something that I used to really struggle with and I still do sometimes. It gets hard to balance everything out. It can be a challenge to figure out what you need to do and when. But keeping a planner has been my saving grace. When I am really stressed out, I even write out my days hour-by-hour and block off times for certain things so that I can stay organized and focused.

8. Not everything goes as planned

Your life is not going to follow the step-by-step plan you've mentally made (if you did that), believe it or not. It is important to set goals for yourself but it is also important to be OK if you don’t reach your goals on time. It is fine to change your goals as you go along. Maybe you wanted to be a journalist when you came to college and then you decided that it wasn’t for you. Everything is going to work out how it is supposed to; you just need to adjust accordingly when appropriate.

9. Believe in yourself

This is the biggest lesson I have learned. If you have a negative mindset, you are going to fail. It is all about being positive and telling yourself that you can do something. You can do anything you set your mind to if you try hard enough.

College is rough, fun, and is made to teach you things. It even teaches you things that are not in the curriculum — and sometimes these are the most important things to hold onto.