Dear Freshman,

Midterms are coming and going. You are halfway through the semester, and it probably feels like you’ve gone through a whole year of high school in just 6 weeks. Although the pressure might feel overwhelming, and it might seem too much to keep up with, don’t give up.

College is probably a mix of what you thought it would be, and a whole lot of things you never saw coming. You knew you’d make new friends, share a tiny dorm room, and inevitably gain weight from the cafeteria. What no one told you was it might not come easy.

The friends might not flood in. The late night dinners with new groups might be filled with late night studying in the library. Crazy Saturday nights might evolve to spending every weekend at home.

College isn’t what you thought. Or so you think right now.

When you’re being challenged in several aspects of your life, it might be easy to give up. You are probably thinking that the school you are at isn’t the one for you. You are calling your parents telling them you want to leave, or try somewhere else.

The reality is that college is hard. It is hard for everyone. Some people struggle socially, others academically. It’s a complete lifestyle change – therefore it isn’t meant to come easy.

In fact - I hated college. I called my parents telling them I was coming home. I didn't stay at school a single weekend. I resented my parents when they wouldn't let me transfer at semester, but now I couldn't be more thankful. Simply because I stuck it out one more semester, I found my best friends in the entire world, and the best team I could ask for.

My advice to you is to wait it out because I guarantee it gets easier. Once you figure out how to handle athletics and academics and whatever else you are balancing, your college will start feeling like home.

Ultimately, you might want to transfer at semester because you hate where you are. You think it will be easier somewhere else, and that might be true. But I encourage you to give it one whole year. Every college is hard; they all take getting used to.

Don’t transfer because you aren’t making friends. Don’t transfer for a significant other. If you transfer, do it because you feel like you will be more successful somewhere else. The friends will come, just put yourself in social situations regardless of how uncomfortable you are. Find your own place, your own niche, your own independence.

I know you are struggling with so much more than what most people see initially, but it gets better. Give it one more semester – I promise you will not regret it.