College kicks you real hard; harder than I thought it would. If I had to say what my biggest challenge was, it would probably be not getting enough sleep, ESPECIALLY during finals week. Have you ever seen "The Walking Dead"? What about ""Pocahontas? Well if you have seen both (if not, you can easily google it), just imagine a zombie and Pocahontas morphed into one human being. That morphed human being best describes what I looked like during finals. Besides my point, taking this new chapter into my life has really changed who I am today. I have learned many life lessons from my professors, friends and sisters. 

For starters, one of the first things I caught up on quickly in college was that Thursday is included as the weekend. Whenever my friends were telling me that they were going out, I got a little confused. Being the “mom” I am, most of the time I would ask them, “Don’t you have a 8 a.m. tomorrow? Did you already finish your homework? What about the test you have to study for tomorrow?” One of the pros/cons of college is that YOU can make your own decisions-whether it’s going out to a party or studying the rest of the night at the library. For some of my friends, let’s just say some of them felt “sick” the next morning. No judgment implied! College is your last four years of being young; It is your last four years to have fun before you go off into the real world with a career. With that being said, this just leads to my next lesson learned: to let loose.

NOW, I am not suggesting for any of you to do something illegal. Yeah I am all about having fun, but I’m pretty sure your roommate or friend will not be happy to bail you out of jail. I could be wrong, but they most likely won’t. Another pro about college is that the social life is great! There is at least one party happening every weekend. One of my biggest regrets during my first year was not going out enough. Most of my weekends consumed of me laying in bed, eating food, and watching Netflix literally ALLLL day. Not there is anything wrong with that, but every weekend? It got old really quick. My friends and sisters were always asking me to go out with them. Even after I told them no the first time, they would still ask again. After telling them all numerous times, they finally gave up on asking me. But after long weekends of just being antisocial in my dorm, I came to my senses. Someone wise once told me to always say yes! In the end, you will be happy to have the experiences when it’s all said and done. So dance the night away with your friends! Even if that includes dancing on the countertop in a public restroom! As long as you have fun, right? Have a story you can tell your grandchildren one day! Like I mentioned before, you only have four years of being young before you go off into the real world.

Another lesson learned from college is that you have to work much harder academically. You think high school was hard? Think again because it just becomes more difficult once you step foot into a college classroom. Professors have higher expectations from you; You are EXPECTED to actually read the textbook and you have to study for HOURS. My test scores in the beginning of the semester were terrible because I would study the day before the test. I got away with that in high school, but obviously not in college. The best way to prepare for a test is to study two to three days before the test. It took me about eight tries before I finally got a decent grade on a test…

For those of you who really know me, I have deep, passionate love for food. My boss understands my love for food because every time she brings her lunch box into work, she always notice that her unopened bag of chips has been ripped open, her water bottle is stained with red lipstick and her new pack of gum is all of a sudden missing. Whenever my family and I go out to eat, I always complain afterwards how full I am from eating my meal. But as soon as we get home from going out to eat, I am suddenly hungry and I am attacking the snack pantry! Now that you all have a better understanding about my intimate relationship with food, this relationship went downhill whenever I went to college. You have much more freedom when it comes to eating for your meals. I took advantage of it and didn’t hit the gym as much as I should have. I gained about five to seven pounds during college. I started to rip holes in my jeans, and let me tell ya, THAT IS A GIRL’S WORST NIGHTMARE. RIP in my American Eagle jeans I have had since I was a freshman in high school: I had to donate them to goodwill last week. My main point from this: watch what you eat because it will haunt you.

For my last lesson learned from college, it would be becoming more open to others. If you considered yourself shy, then its time to break out of your shell and meet new people. Otherwise you won’t make any friends (sorry that’s harsh, I PROMISE I AM NOT MEAN!). I was already an outgoing gal before coming to college, although I was not as open in high school like I am now. There are no cliques in college. Some would say that sororities and fraternities make themselves into cliques, but I would beg to differ. I have many friends that are not in greek life so that wouldn’t make me a part of a clique. Be more open by joining organizations such as greek life! If greek life isn’t for you, find an organization that best fits your interest. There is literally an organization for everything you can possibly can think of. I’m 90 percent sure that Ball State has an organization for Justin Bieber haters, so if you strongly dislike him, there are others out there that share the same hatred as you do! SO GO OUT THERE AND SPREAD THE HATRED WITH YOUR NEW FRIENDS! Well only for this case; in general, let’s spread the love and not be mean to one another! 

I could go on and on about how much I have learned college, but the list of lessons learned would be endless. For those of you going into college this fall, it will be an amazing experience and will be quite the journey. The friends you make in college will last a life time, those friends will most likely be there for you on your wedding day. I don’t know if you have heard the saying, “High school is the best four years of your life,” but if you have, it is an understatement because college is the best four years of your life.