College is a lot of work, there is no denying that. Before you even step foot on campus there are months spent deciding where to apply. Then you have to apply to each school and hope they accept the common application. Filling out forms and writing college essays takes over your life for a while. Scholarship applications are next on the list because paying for college is just as important as getting in. After all that work you hope you’re excepted where you want to go. The real challenge starts when you have to make the cuts. There are papers to write and hours of studying ahead. For many, concern shifts from all A’s to barely scraping by with a passing grade. There are so many clubs to join and things to do. There is a sudden freedom and an overwhelming sense of being grown up and being responsible for yourself. Adulthood is upon you. But don’t stress out. College is just like baking cookies.

If you’re a freshman in college who just can’t rationalize the stress of college or you’re in any of the processes above, this one’s for you. Baking cookies takes a lot of ingredients, just like college is going to require a lot from you. You’re going to have to study for hours and turn in hundreds of assignments for it to be a successful experience. Just as cookies taste like crap if you don’t put in the right ingredients, you have to do what is required of you for college to be a success.

When you’re only 18 years old it’s pretty hard to figure out the rest of your life, yet college expects that of you. If you enter into a major that turns out a lot different than you had anticipated don’t think you can’t change your mind. Maybe the Pre-Med program is something you realize you realistically aren’t capable of. Maybe you realize you don’t like history after all and change to an education major. When you’re baking cookies sometimes you find out you don’t have the right ingredients, but you can always make brownies. Changing your major isn’t the end of the world. Brownies are really good anyways.

My sister has this special talent; she can bake cookies. I have never been able to figure out how, but every time she pulls out a sheet full of cookies from the oven they’re perfect. But when I try my hand at baking it usually turns out pretty bad. Sometimes I burn them or they just taste terrible. Baking relates to college in this way because you have to remember that college isn’t for everyone, just like baking isn’t for everyone. If you realize college isn’t for you, you aren’t a failure. There is something out there that you’re good at. Go find it.

I have been to a lot of different banquets and parties that have beautiful trays of cookies that are arranged so perfectly. I approach them with caution. Sometimes they live up to my expectations and taste delicious, but other times they aren’t nearly as good as I’d expected. When picking out colleges most people try to avoid campuses that aren’t pretty and perfect if they can help it. Maybe they’re thinking the education at a school who charges $60,000 a year will be better than one who charges half of that. Now suppose this assumption is correct, the beautiful expensive colleges might have more to offer or a better education to give, but don’t be fooled. Not all places that cost an arm and a leg and have green grass live up to expectations. Go to a college you can afford, don’t let fancy fool you. College isn’t a scary complicated time. It can be fun, and it doesn’t have to be stressful. If you put in the right ingredients the result will be delicious.