I'm sitting on my bed in my new room, looking around at the weirdly white walls and the unfortunately tiny room. I realize at this moment that I had just been stranded by my parents in an unfamiliar town with hundreds of strangers. This seemed to be the worst moment of my life, and I'm pretty sure tears were streaming out of my eyes, but nine months later I can confidently say being stranded was the best thing that has ever happened to me. Of course, I was in shock as to how my mother (the woman I had lived with for 18 years) could just leave me at a random college just like that. But right then, as I felt the most vulnerable, I picked myself up and got to meet the people in my freshman hall. This was the beginning of the nine months that changed my life.

Nine months ago, I was an immature, self-conscious, shy 18 year old. I knew I had the opportunity to "become" anyone I wanted to be, but I wasn't sure who that should have been. I wasn't sure what people wanted me to be. After a few weeks of trying out the different ways I could be a new person, I quickly realized how stupid that was. I wasn't in high school anymore, I didn't have to impress anyone other than myself. College was a new atmosphere -- one where you could be anything in the world and still find your group of friends. I slowly started to come out of my shell and be who I truly am, and as I did this, I met some amazing people who I can now call my best friends. If I hadn't been myself and let myself come out of my shell, I wouldn't have been able to have the amazing friends I have today.

Looking back as the year is finishing, and my friends and I are being separated by what seems to be the longest summer in the world, I've seen how much I've changed. These past nine months have given me some real life curve balls that I had to learn how to manage on my own as an adult. I had to learn how to put myself in uncomfortable positions, I had to teach myself how to approach professors, I had to learn how to deal with failure, but most importantly I learned how to be confident in who I want to be. I chose to be me for the first time. Not because I felt pressured, or because I wanted to impress someone else, but because I was confident enough to become myself.

As I leave my freshman year of college, and I look back, I see that maybe freshman year isn't about learning calculus or passing a biology test. Rather, it's to learn how to be a person in the real world. It's about learning how to deal with new emotions, new responsibilities and a new you. It's about becoming the best person you can possibly become with the most confidence you've ever had. Although it was only nine months, freshman year changed me into who I am today.