The end of August is near, do you know what that means? Fall semester is approaching. I graduated high school in 2012; therefore, most of my peers graduated with their Bachelor’s degrees this year. I’m a year behind in college because of a number of reasons: I had a super hard time deciding on a major, I took a semester off to participate in the Disney College Program, and I had some family emergencies that forced me to drop some courses.

In a way, I’m thankful that I’m behind because that time off allowed me to really find myself and explore my interests. I have developed a strong passion for photography, I love reading and writing and I am really interested in learning about the behaviors of people and the science behind that. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I think I’m on the right path… even if that means I’m a little behind schedule.

However, it does NOT make it ANY easier to watch my friends and former classmates post about their new and exciting "adult" jobs, how they got accepted into Master programs, etc. Seeing all of their social media posts makes me cringe… don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy for each and every one of them but it really just flat out sucks to feel like you’ve fallen behind. It makes it even worse when friends and family members ask me when I’m going to graduate or what I'm doing with my life every time I see them. It makes me want to scream.

I’m writing about this topic today because I am preparing for the fall semester to start on Monday and it’s really starting to set in that I’m still looking at an entire year of courses ahead while most of my peers are out there in the "real world". It’s hard for sure, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit around and mope or be jealous.

I keep telling myself that there should be no time limit on a college degree and that everyone has their own paces. Some people have it lucky and they know exactly what they want to major in from the get-go, and some just don’t. I had a hard time finding my niche, but that’s okay. My goal this month is to stop worrying so much about what everyone else is doing and just solely focus on myself. I have a lot to be proud of, and I know for sure that the person reading this does too.

The moral of this post is just do you and STOP worrying about what anyone else is saying, thinking, or doing. I know I'm going to try my hardest to follow this as the school year approaches. As long as you are doing something to benefit YOU, you should be proud of yourself. I know it’s hard… I would be lying if I told you I didn’t beat myself up every once in a while. But please never compare yourself to anyone else; that is the most important thing I’ve started to do for myself lately and I feel so much better. So get out there and kick today’s booty and show the world what YOU’VE got.