Have you ever heard of that saying, "life is a climb but the view is great", yeah it was in that Hannah Montana movie so I'm sure we all remember it.

The thing is, no matter how cliche it sounds, it's true.

Life is full of obstacles really, we hear about it as kids and the older we get the more afraid we are to grow up because of all the responsibility and stories we hear about being so incredibly independent, it is frightening.

Some of us get this idea in our head sometime in middle school or maybe earlier that we have to excel at that we are told to do. We have to get the best grades possible, volunteer, join clubs, play sports, and know what we want to do with our lives after high school, after college.

We feel pressured, yes, but that's old news because this is what we're suppose to do, all of us, and we're used to it.

However, that doesn't make it easier.

Growing up I was pretty average. I played different sports, joined a few clubs starting freshman year, maintained high honor roll, and had my dream job planned out for me.

Now I'm a sophomore in college, I've changed my major, and I'm not a high honor roll student anymore and I don't have my life planned out.

I still work hard, but college requires you to work a bit harder. It requires you to handle more stress than you were ever used to. You have to become used to that too, the stress, the confusion of what you want to do, and the never ending work load and for some, all the other difficulties they're faced with.

I don't have all A's, and at times that's all I wish to have, but I am not one of those people. It's OK.

You might be thinking of how badly you messed up freshman year, and I'm not going to lie to you it could've prevented you from other opportunities in college like studying abroad or joining certain clubs or applying for an internship you really wanted. It sets you back but it is not the end of the world. From experience, it quite literally feels that way at times but I have to remember that there is still time and you can always fix things. It is a huge downer, it is. When you see yourself doing worse than your friends and your classmates it's going to hurt your self-esteem and make you feel weak, but you can always fix it if you try.

It's OK not to get all A's, or even two or even one. Next time just try harder, and if trying harder still doesn't get you one there's always alternatives and there's always a back up plan for you. It doesn't mean you won't ever get a good college experience, it doesn't make you dumb and it doesn't mean you aren't going to graduate.

Don't give up.

Make it a wake up call and pick yourself up to do what you need to do to be satisfied with yourself. Make yourself proud. Strive to succeed. Take time to think about the things you want for yourself, and write down the first step you need to take in order to achieve it. Then do it. Always take one step at a time.