Having completed my first year of college, I gained a lot of real life knowledge. Frankly, I have learned more about this world than I ever wanted to. These are just a few things that I have taken away from my first year in the real world. While I do wish I could sit here and tell you all about everything, good and bad, that I have encountered, it would take far too long. So, I decided to leave you with just a few snip-its that my nineteen year-old self has come to realize.

"Adulting" is hard. College is hard. Life is hard. Looking back, high school was really pretty simple. Show up, put forth the effort, and you've got yourself an "A". I always deemed high school to be some of the worst years of my life, but I was wrong. High school was the glory days. If I could turn back time and go back to Grace for even just a day, with my group of people, I would in a heart beat.

Community college is not embarrissing, and it is not any worse than going straight into a university.In fact, I am so thankful that I did go to community college first. Aside from the fact that I saved thousands of dollars, it also gave me the opportunity to work and pay for things like my dream car. It taught me that I was capable of maintaining good grades and still working full time to do the things that I wanted to do. Community college was probably one of my better decisions.

Life isn't fair, and sometimes you learn that the hard way. A month after I graduated, I got a job at a franchise daycare that I had only heard rave reviews about. I instantly fell in love with the children there. After a few months, I realized that it broke my heart to go to work on a daily basis. Every day was something new. A kid getting hit? No big deal. A kid getting yanked by their arms or feet? A daily thing. The staff constantly gossiping and saying terrible things? Literally every second. I stayed because I adored the kids. I stayed because I loved seeing the life in their eyes. At some point, enough was enough. Maybe it was when I began to notice the management lying to parents. Or maybe it was when I realized that there were moral and legal things that were being done wrong. Perhaps it was even when I realized that it was the people that I trusted that were looking parents dead in their eyes, spewing lies about their own childs well-being. It all became too much, and it became something that was against what I believed. I could no longer be a part of those lies. When I left, I left on good terms. In fact, I left and was told to come back whenever I had free time. Let me tell you, it was not what I expected. I never heard back from the management. I never got as much as a text back from the assistant director that I was constantly there for. The assistant director that I spent countless weekends and hundreds of dollars investing in her daughter. The same daughter that my parents begged me to bring home time and time again. It took everything in me not to post negative reviews and not to go and tell the world about how corrupt they were. Not only did that center open my eyes to all these negative things, but it gave me the chance to be the bigger person. It gave me the opportunity to be the person that my parents raised me to be.

Sometimes, change is good. After I left that job, I began nannying. This was new to me, and quite frankly I was a little scared. I have honestly always been scared of change. Best decision I have ever made. I fell completely in love with this family and their two children. Do I miss the kids from my previous center? Every single day, but it's a completely different world to be with these two. Not only this, but I got rid of the vehicle that I fell in love with. I learned how to save money and work hard for what I have. I made it possible for myself to purchase a brand new vehicle. I never thought that would be a possibility. I traded the beautiful Jeep that everyone loved for something more practical- I guess my mom and dad were right after all (Don't tell them I said that).

A small group of friends is much better than a big group of foes.Friends come and go. I have two girls that I could call any time of day or night and rely on. I don't talk to them every day, and we don't see eachother daily either. When I first started college, I noticed all these girls who were with the same people all the time, and in the back of my head, I knew that they were just friendships that were voiding that empty space. They were filled with toxicity. I quickly realized that being a full time college student and working full time left no room for drama or stress. Keep your group small, and keep the good ones close. Trust me, chasing people who aren't worth your time will only set you back

Love comes when you are least expecting it.Love for me came after one of the worst periods that I had been through. I had given up on trying to find someone at my age, and I did not see the point in getting my hopes up. The night that I got my phone working again after two weeks, my best friend called me and dragged me out of the house. She took me to some bonfire in the middle of nowhere, and there he was. I hate to sound clichè, but I fell for him right away. We clicked right away. I have never been treated so well, and I have never felt so comfortable. He came right when Kane Brown said he would- at that random house party that I didn't even want to go to.

God works in mysterious ways- don't lose faith in Him. God was my one constant through all the confusion and chaor that life has thrown at me. I realized that when you life a Christ centered life, He will really do all the hard work and heavy lifting. When I was lost, He was there to build my path. He never let me lose sight of the people who were with me through thick and thin, and he never let me lose contact with the six people I graduated with, even when times were complicated.

Be an advocate for what you believe. Do not let others opinions form your own. Stand up for what you know to be right, but do it in the right way, and at the right time. Do not belittle others because they do not agree, instead, just learn to come to an understanding. I had to realize that this world is brutal, and it is insanely cut-throat. Be the best version of you. As always, be the advocate for those who cannot be their own. Stand up for those whose voices often go unheard. Step out of your comfort zone and learn something new. I chose to learn sign lnguage and it has opened so many doors that I never even noticed. Take that and run with it.

Keep your parents close, but keep yourself closer.Don't lose yourself in this world and don't push away the people in your corner. I'm lucky to have been given all the opportunities that I have. Most of which are from my premts. We were never rich, but they always made sure I had everything that I ever could have wanted. They always came up with the means for me to pursue whatever I thought I could succeed in. For that, I owe them everything, and I am forever grateful.

My first year out of high school has taught me more than I could tell you. It has taught me that becoming an adult is hard, and it is never a black and white situation. It has also taught me that life is filled with color and love and happiness- You just have to learn to overlook the faded parts.