Life can be hard and extremely complicated, especially when you have recently left home and gone off to college or to live on your own. Being independent and having a lot on your plate can be difficult. A lot of people who had no issues getting everything done in high school may be struggling in their twenties.

A lot of my high school friends were always very motivated people who were involved in a ton of clubs, took classes with rigorous work, and even had a part-time job and managed to feel fine and efficient. Now, they are just as ambitious but are finding it hard to manage everything in their lives. I am definitely included in this group.

Back then, when I was living at home, I had it all done for me. I would have delicious and healthy home cooked meals every day, I would be driven everywhere, and I would have all the time in the world to work on my schoolwork and to do extracurricular activities. Having this heavy workload made me think I could handle the same amount of things in college without a problem. I received a harsh wake-up call when I realized that it would take a lot of effort and motivation to succeed in every aspect of my life in college.

After I went off to college, I had to cook for myself. I had never cooked anything besides pasta before in my life, and all of a sudden I had to make sure I fed myself and had balanced meals. I also had to start cleaning a lot more often than I did at home because I didn't have parents around to split chores with. I found myself busy all the time, with one thing or another to simply survive.

On top of all this, I realized I had to do my schoolwork and I had to study for my exams. Learning a subject in nine months is a lot easier than learning it all in 4 months. Everything in college is fast paced and I was not ready for that. I felt alone when I came to this discovery and felt that I was the only one feeling this way. I saw social media posts of my friends looking happy and succeeding in everything and I honestly believed they were stable and knew exactly what they were doing.

It wasn't until I had some time off school and was able to call some of my old friends that I realized we all felt the same way. We were stressed, overwhelmed, and insecure about the fate of our future. These friends and I were always trying to succeed in every way and I guess we never thought college would be as difficult as it is.

Talking to people who understood how I felt was comforting and alleviated my stress about what I was doing in my life. I was happy I was able to give my friends advice as well as received advice from them.

It is important to check up on your friends and see how they are doing. Just because you think they have a perfect life, there may be more to their story. They may be struggling like you are and they may need someone who gets it to talk to.
Always check up on your friends and take a deep breath the next time you feel like you don't know what you are doing.

As long as you are doing everything you can to succeed, you are doing the right thing. You don't need to get it all done as soon as possible or at the same pace as the people around you. Remember, that Rome wasn't built in a day and that everyone's path to success looks different, but those paths are caved through hard work and through perseverance. Whenever life gets tough, remember you've gotten through a lot of things and will get past the latest obstacle.