As my first year of college winds to a stop, I find it alarming how one year felt longer and shorter than it actually was.
I feel like a completely different person than I was back in August, which isn’t far from the truth: college has taught me more about myself in one year and the effect it has on me is simply life-changing.
I can’t remember too much about what everyday life was like in high school, which is strange since it was happening less than a year ago. I knew that college was something I wanted and something I was ready for.
I was excited and terrified and oh-so-anticipating all at once.
The best part about college is that the most important things I learned didn’t always happen inside of the classroom.
College is the perfect mix of throwing someone out into the real world while still keeping them in a little bubble; it’s a chance to learn and grow, and I think I was able to do just that this year.
College taught me how to embrace my passion for writing. I’m lucky enough to be in college studying something I am fiercely passionate about.
I got to meet some of the most wonderful people who not only share my passion, but encourage and support me every step of the way.
College taught me how to be jealous, but how to use jealousy as motivation.
I learned how to set goals and work hard for me, and I learned how to push that all aside when I needed to be there for a friend.
College taught me independence.
I’m one of those really-good-at-faking-it independent people, but after having to put myself out there and go out for my own opportunities has made a lot of that fake confidence real.
College taught me to put myself first and that it is never wrong to do so. I had to learn how to take care of me, how to make decisions that best impacted me, and that it was okay to do so.
College taught me that it’s okay to have a home-away-from-home, and that you can love that second home just as much as the first one.
College taught me that it isn’t always easy to say goodbye, but that when something stops, it doesn’t have to end for good.
And if this is just the beginning, I can’t wait to see what the next three years bring.
