Being in college is terrifying. It means that you have to be an adult, or at least, know how to act like one because once you graduate, you're probably going to be in the real world. You'll have a job, make your own money, take care of your bills, pay for a place to live and food to eat, and be responsible for yourself. That's actually pretty scary to think about. It's even worse when you realize the kids you're in college with, who act like they're still children, are going to be in the real world soon.

As terrifying as that realization is, it's always made worse by the realization that if you do not get good grades throughout college, you will not get a degree, and you will be forced to get a job that you don't like, or have multiple jobs you don't like to pay for all the adult things you need. So of course, every time you have a big test, panic sets in. This is exactly why finals weeks and midterm weeks in college are so much worse than in high school. We have realized if we fail, our entire future, life, and career are on the line.

I have always wanted to be a veterinarian, and in college, some professors try to get rid of the kids that won't make it. Almost every day one of my professors will make a comment about how tough graduate school is, how many friends you lose when you're in graduate school, how hard it is to get into graduate school or how tough the industry is. These lovely comments have led to increasing levels of panic and stress throughout this first year in college.

There are the kids that aren't going to go to graduate school who ask why it's so difficult, and what's so stressful about it, but they will never understand. When you realize that you will have to be a functioning adult, at the same time that you are a graduate student, and you'll have to get amazing grades for the next eight years of your life, all while your professors tell you that you won't all make it, and that for some people there's no point in trying — it's a little hard to stay calm and stress free.

Also, when you get a grade that is lower than an 85, you will have to hide the fact that you're being eaten alive by the realization that if you get another grade like this you won't advance to the next part of your goal for life. When you realize that the childish kids who have yet to mature past the age of 15 are going to be fully in the adult world sooner than you are, you will find yourself under added stress.

Knowing that when you graduate college, you will also have a giant amount of student loans to pay off does not help your stress levels. Unless you have been saving money your entire life to be able to pay your loans off immediately after you graduate, you should probably start to think about saving money during college. If you don't, you will be dealing with even more stress when you attempt to get enough money to support yourself and to pay your loans.

Now, the trick to surviving college is to pretend you're handling everything perfectly well, when in reality, your mind is being turned into a giant ball of stressful thoughts. The one main thing I have learned in college is that if you can fake it, you can make it. If you can fake being OK, you can be OK. If you can fake being an adult, you can be perceived as one. Although college is terrible and terrifying, if you pretend, you'll make it through the first four years.