This is for all of you college students who felt the struggle of freshman year, whether it was physically, emotionally, mentally, or any combination of the three. I know there are those who don’t understand how some of us can or could’ve struggled with adjusting to college, but that was me last year - an anxious, homesick, overwhelmed wreck. It was a major life change and there’s no right way to react or any possible way to predict exactly how it’s going to affect each individual. But I got through it, making the best of my first year of college that I could. Here I am in my first week of sophomore year and all I can do is feel so so grateful and amazed at the positive difference in how I feel as classes start again. So if you're still a freshman or an upperclassman with a similar experience of struggle during your first year, I want to take the time to discuss why this year, it feels so much better.

One of the biggest factors in that difference that I have friends. Unlike freshman year, I didn’t get dropped off in a place full of strangers; I got dropped off knowing that I was heading upstairs to an apartment filled with some of my closest friends. Last year, the ultimate challenge was to make the kind of friends you could want to live with, go grocery shopping with and go on adventures at 2 am with, and this year that challenge is gone. Completing that challenge and creating a core group of friends is essential in college because they become your family here on campus. I never thought I would feel like I had a family that wasn't a few hundred miles away, but here I am, feeling like I have all the support I could need when my parents and siblings can't be here.

That family extends beyond my roommates, but I cannot get over how wonderful it feels to be so comfortable in my living space right from the first night this year. I picked my room and my roommates and it’s literally like a sleepover every fucking night. We watch trashy reality shows together, we help each other with the dishes, we vent about anything and everything, we even decorate together. Of course, we did most of those things last year, but it took us a long time to open up and adjust to living together. Now it basically feels more normal than living at home with our families. Like I said, this is a feeling I was sure I’d never have last year.

Aside from the comfort created by my friends and roommates, I feel so much more at ease on campus this year. Freshman year is when you have to ask a few times which building is where, and this year, well there’s a good chance you’ve been in most, if not all, of the ones you’re going to visit on a daily basis. I know how long it’s going to take me to get to each of my classes if I have time to grab a coffee or which shortcut is worth taking. I’m not bothered by the amount of people I walk by and don’t know, or the cars or skateboarders or cyclists who occasionally get too close while I’m crossing a street; it’s just a part of my daily routine. I feel confident in my own ability to handle and navigate these things, which is a huge difference from feeling inexperienced and scared. I thought this new environment would push me to my limits and show me I wasn't good enough, but it's done the opposite.

I kind of felt the same about my classes; I was worried I would realize that my dreams are crazy and I'm completely out of my league trying to achieve them. But my classes and my teachers showed me that with a lot more work, I'll be okay. I'm just starting out and I'm in the perfect place for resources and expertise in my chosen field of work. There are teachers and faculty at my college that I’m truly happy to see around campus. I know them from the classes where they pushed, encouraged or inspired me. I know some of them from different events on campus or advising sessions or other times when I’ve needed resources for class or personal help. I know that I have people to go to beyond my family of friends when I need to.

What it comes down to is that being at college this year feels normal. It is 110 percent more comfortable, which I literally never thought possible after the searing discomfort and emotional upset and confusion of last year. I learned that that discomfort was what happened when I was pushed to grow. Now, seeing and collaborating with my friends, living with a few of them, walking to class on busy streets, reaching out for opportunities to have classes with great teachers or career advice or job opportunities - it’s my every day. I'm surely not done with all of my learning experiences in college, but I feel ready this time. I feel comfortable - that's the real difference from the beginning of the first year to the second, third or fourth. Hang in there, it does feel better eventually.