In all honesty, what can I say about freshman year? The year pretty much took, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," to a whole new level. Gone were the innocent times of high school where everything negative just seemed to work itself out. Now, in college, came the slap to the face that almost everyone needs to get off their high horse.

College is not all fun and games. Do not believe what the media tells you. Yes, there are some pretty good times, but listen to me: You're going to have sleepless nights, mental breakdowns, and dropout thoughts, no matter how much you may love the school, regardless of major. Academic stress is pretty gruesome on its own, but add some social drama in there (among everything else), and then it really begins.

I am not here to sugarcoat your freshman year of college, like everyone did to me. I was not expecting what was to come, so here's my story.

Throughout high school, I was always a good kid, for the most part. Not one suspension, let alone detention. Honor roll was a must, and graduating in the top 20 percent of my class came along with it. I was Naive and sheltered my whole life and the first to go away to school (even though it was 20 minutes from my house). That meant I had those parents, even when I entered college. I called home (or they called me) multiple times a day. They had to know where and what I was doing at all times. I wasn't "allowed" to leave campus. My grades had to be known to them constantly. Hey, they were scared. I can't really blame them.

I walked onto campus, not really sure of what was going to happen. Literally, the second day, however, I fell for a guy. It was great, at first. He did not want to be exclusive and date me, and somehow I was OK with that. I letmyself be OK with that. I let myself be OK with a lot of things. I wasn't happy after a while. I wanted a commitment. I wanted security. I wanted someone to be there for me. I wanted to be treated right, not how he was treating me. I wanted something more. The sad part is, he did not even know what he was doing to me, no matter how much I tried to show I was unhappy, no matter how many times I cried and told him what I wanted. I just wasn't enough. Finals week was fast approaching, and I had tons of tests to study for and papers to write. Enough was enough. The whole "relationship" we had ended horribly. I honestly wasn't sure if I could recover.

While all this was going on, multiple fights between friends occurred, and I was caught in the middle. They were all my closest friends at the school, but what could i do? I couldn't take sides. I didn't want to. It pretty much was tearing me a part, but I wouldn't dare tell them that. I was drowning in their negativity, gasping for air. I felt like I was going to explode. I couldn't do that, though. I had to put on my happy face and let them all come to me with their problems, acting like there was nothing wrong.

I was pretty much surrounded by negativity, at that point. Everyone I walked passed was gossiping. Embarrassing nights that fellow students probably wouldn't remember were plastered all over social media for everyone to see. Their adventures clearly seen through their sunglasses and baggy clothes they wore to class the next day. God only knew what else happened that wasn't caught on camera. Rumors spread like wildfire (about me included). The truth was hidden behind the lines that were already crossed by those spreading them.

Having the freedom of being away from home got to me too. I was doing things I wouldn't dare do back in high school from the fear of being caught by my parents. I would probably be eternally grounded if they only knew.

My own personal drama back at home just seemed to be icing on the cake. Even though I wasn't there, I still had every bit of information hit me like a freight train, only digging myself deeper into a hole. And don't even get me started on living with girls I didn't even know and was too scared to complain about their living habits.

The cherry on top just had to be my academic studies. No major is easy, by any means. I knew college would be hard, but I didn't think it would be that hard going into it. I thought they'd take it easy on me, since I was a freshman nursing major. Boy, was I wrong. I didn't even have actual nursing courses at all my freshman year; I was just building the backbone of what was to come. A&P flashcards and diagrams were scattered around my room. I pretty much had the periodic table's most common elements memorized by December from being in chemistry. Dozens of diseases and their symptoms plagued my brain (and still do) from microbiology.

Through the negative, I don't regret my freshman year. I made some pretty sweet friends and memories that will last a life time, if not longer. Late night dance parties, Disney sing-alongs, sleepovers, crazy times in the common room, and so much more will be memories I will always treasure. Oh, and all the negatives? I'll probably laugh at myself and the situations I got myself into in the future, though they seemed like the end of the world at the time.

It's now a new year to start over, a new year to try and better myself. And for some of you, it's only the beginning, and that's OK.

Here's my advice to you: Don't settle for anything less than what is good for you. Live happily and enjoy your time at school. Balance your stress load, and don't take on too much. College is ultimately what you make of it. It's only going to be a bad one if you let it be. The choice is now yours, not your parents'.

In the wise (yet cheesy) words of Hannah Montana: "Life's what you make it, so let's make it rock!"