Any college student who has a chronic illness knows the struggle of trying to balance their academic life, while at the same time trying to deal with their disease. The constant doctor appointments, bloodwork, and hospitalizations can be extremely exhausting and overwhelming especially when you're also taking on a full college schedule. Although this can be very difficult and feel impossible at times, there are ways to overcome your disease and not let it control you.

Everyone struggles with their classes to some degree, but people who also have to consider their health into the equation can fall behind in school quite easily. In my own experiences, I have a chronic illness called Ulcerative Colitis that caused me to be hospitalized three times during my college career. I now have to take an extra year of college to make up for all the lost time that my illness caused me. Do I let that affect my motivation to get a college degree and enjoy my college years? hell no. I will never ever ever ever let my illness consume me in a way that would affect my future and what I strive to be in this world, and I encourage others struggling with their chronic illness to do the same. Whatever pain you are struggling with, there are alternative roots and accommodations that school's offer. You have choices! Whether it's missing classes for a prolonged period of time, or an inability to study because your pain is so bad, colleges and universities are required to offer ways such as extended testing time, or course load reduction.

There are times where a chronic illness can get so out of hand to the point of having to take a break from college, and that is A-OK. How are you supposed to complete school if every day you're struggling to even get out of bed? Your health always comes first. The hardest part of that situation would be coming back and adjusting to campus life. This can be a trying, emotional experience. After my hospitalizations, I found that coming back to school takes a lot of time to readjust in both my social and academic life. This can apply to anyone whose health was compromised by anything, not just chronic illnesses. There are things that you should be reminding yourself when returning to school that can ease your mind:

1. Understand what you went through mentally and physically- it's a life-changing situation.

You should reflect on your time away from school and remind yourself that even though there was a roadblock in your college career, it should not stop you from perusing your life goals.

2. Its ok to feel distant from friends, and yourself.

When you've been taken out of an environment that holds your future and friends, it's going to be hard when you suddenly get placed back into it. Things will be different, but that's ok because there will be a point where you realize you've climbed the mountain and that you're back on top again.

3. You are not alone.

There are other college students that struggle with the same things you do on a daily basis. Chronic illnesses do not get discussed often, therefore people don't even know about them! There are so many times that I bring up my illness and people have no clue what I'm talking about, but what's important to know is that you are not alone in your struggles.

These are just a few tips to remind yourself when you get down in the dumps about your chronic illness. We all face challenges every day, but it's ultimately up to yourself and how you deal with those challenges. It's so important to realize that while struggling, you should also be reminding yourself of what is good in life and be thankful for the little things. Your chronic illness is just a part of your life, it is NOT who you are as a person.