I was so excited about starting college, especially for a new beginning. It’s only been a month, and I’ve already met so many great people, joined an amazing sorority, and started a new job. I love the social aspect and the freedom of college, but the school part is where it gets not so fun.

I have always made good grades and been extremely involved with other clubs. So I thought I knew how to multitask and study. Key word in that sentence was THOUGHT. College is a legit slap in the face. Everything you thought you knew how to do isn’t good enough. Or, if you’re like me and haven’t been pushed enough academically to really understand your study skills, then it’s a very real struggle. There are a lot of changes that you’re trying to adapt to, and it can be extremely difficult at times. Here are 10 thoughts/struggles that pretty much every college freshman can relate to.

If you don’t feel like you’re constantly drowning, are you really in college?

1. You're sitting here killing yourself to make a good grade when this class has absolutely NOTHING to do with your major.

2. You’ve accepted that unless you have an 8 a.m., you will be parking at the Softballs fields and you will go to your first class sweaty and aggravated before your day has even started.

3. Your backpack weighs 30 pounds.

4. You go from feeling like you’re on top of the world to feeling like jumping off the 2-10 bridge in five seconds.

5. Going to bed at 3 a.m. is pretty much the norm.

6. You wonder why you even went to high school, because it prepared you for absolutely nothing.

7. Emotional breakdowns are a regular thing.

8. You’ve pretty much accepted that your life is a crap show 24/7.

9. You start college knowing exactly what you want to do with your life then flash forward to a month later and you have absolutely no idea.

10. You struggle to figure out your own routine and what works best for you.

On a more positive note, I do understand that things will get better and that your first semester is always hard trying to get used to everything. But I didn’t think it would be this hard. I personally don’t handle change very well, so I’m trying to be patient with myself through all of this. I am slowly but surely figuring out my new routine, and I am still trying to figure out my study habits, but I know they will come. I've failed a test that I studied really hard for, which I shed a few tears over, but that's okay. I'm gonna have up and downs, that's life and I'm learning to be okay with that.

If you are struggling too, know that you aren't alone.