I will be the first to admit it: change is terrifying. Who likes it when you have a set routine and all of a sudden, you have to do something else instead? It is annoying and often feels unnecessary at the time. However, change can be a great thing. How many times have you gone through a change that you hated at the time, but now look back on and couldn’t imagine life without it? I like to do pretty much the same things every day, and if something different happens, it can totally throw me off. Sometimes, I even continue doing certain activities or hanging out with the same people even if they aren’t helping me grow, or are even hurting my wellbeing, because I would rather stick with what I know and not change anything. Over the past couple years, I have had a lot of things happen to me that were definitely not the normal things I was used to happening. I am slowly learning that change is a good thing, and it is OK to change your mind even if you have always thought the same way.

One of the biggest changes in someone’s life can be when they go off to college. Unless you go to a nearby college and live at home, you have experienced living on your own and being completely independent. (Or almost completely independent, minus the fact that you still ask your parents for money sometimes.) When I came to college, I was not prepared for how big of an adjustment it was. I was so scared that I would spend hours crying in my dorm room and not reaching out and making friends. I wanted to go home all of the time, and since I had a car, I went home a lot more than I should have. I joined a sorority, thinking it would help me to adjust more to college life. At first, it did the opposite. It was too much to handle all at once. I told my mom several times that I wanted to drop out and go to the community college back home, and she refused to let me. At the time, I was livid and thought that she just didn’t understand. Now, I am so glad she was adamant about me staying. I have had so many wonderful opportunities here at The University of Akron, and I can't imagine what life would be like without all of my wonderful sisters and friends here.

Another big change that can happen in college is with friendships. Maybe sometimes you just don’t stay as close with your high school friends, because you all go to different schools far away from each other. Or maybe you realize you have way different interests and are growing into a different person, and the friendship just doesn’t work anymore. This can honestly feel like the end of the world sometimes. I know that I am not as close with my friends from high school, and at first, it was so weird to not talk to them every day. The problem is that some people force these relationships, just because they don’t want to believe their friends are changing. They want everything to stay the same, and it just doesn’t work. Maybe you need to just let go and realize everyone is making their different groups of friends in college, and that’s OK. You can always meet up over winter break and hang out. Obviously if you are still going strong with your high school best friend, that’s wonderful and there is no need for you to change that! But, just because you are friends with someone in high school, it doesn’t mean you have to stay best friends with them forever. Or, maybe you have a friend who is completely toxic. Every time you hang out with them, you feel drained and exhausted from the drama they create, or from feeling pushed around by them. But it’s hard for you to stop being friends with them, because that’s just how it’s always been. You wouldn’t even know how to stop being friends with them because you’re always hanging out with them, or all of your other friends are mutual friends with them as well. It may seem hard, but once you take a step back and stop hanging out with them, you will see how much better you feel and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Relationships are in an ever-changing state. Maybe you had a boyfriend in high school and you don’t want to end it even if you know it isn’t working anymore with you both moving off to college. Or maybe you’ve been with someone so long that you just don’t want to break it off because your life will be so different without them, and you don’t want to see what it’s like, even though you haven’t felt the same for a while. I feel very strongly on the topic of relationships and change, because I have experienced this a couple times. I have stayed with someone simply because I knew my life would be drastically different without them, and because I didn’t want them to get hurt. By the time I ended it, I was miserable. You can’t stay with someone just because you don’t want to hurt their feelings, and the sooner it ends the better you will feel. People don’t work out as a couple sometimes, and that’s OK. Don’t be afraid to take a leap and be single again, because one day you’ll meet someone who you will truly care for and not have to stay with out of guilt.

Change can be a positive experience, and it’s all in how you view it. If change is scary for you, try to make small adjustments in your life to see how it feels, before trying to make bigger changes. If you want to stop being friends with someone, do it. If you want to change majors because you're unhappy, don't be so scared about the outcome. You never know what is waiting for you after that leap of faith.