Do you ever feel like everyone has their lives figured out and you are still trying to come up with some sort of plan? That some people have it easier and you do not have a clue on where to start? Well, unfortunately, that is college for most of us. None of us come to college with a set plan that will happen 100%. Things change, people change, and plans change.

This isn’t a letter about the lazy student who would rather watch five hours of Netflix than study, this is a letter to the students who work hard and want a better future for themselves. Believe it or not, even the dedicated, hard working students don’t have a plan and they panic at the idea that things might not work out for them. The students who get great grades, are in extracurricular activities, work a job, and have a social life do not always have a clue what their lives will be like after graduation.

It is not easy, it gives most of us the anxiety we wish we could push away. We see our friends posting on Facebook saying how excited they are to start a new internship, job, adventure, or trip, while we sit here trying to figure out what direction we should be moving in. Don’t get me wrong, we are trying and applying to as many things as we can, but we still get denied and that is most definitely not a great feeling. So when we see your wonderful Facebook posts, that’s when we close our laptops, exit out of our apps on our phones and start to think about how we aren’t good enough or that we need to try harder. We are happy for you and your accomplishments, but it can be hard seeing those things over and over.

Isn’t college supposed to prepare us for our future and the steps we should be taking after graduation? The future is a very scary thing for most of us and nothing is set and stone. I am here to comfort those of you that are afraid of the future and to let you know that you are not alone. We all fear the future and embrace it all at the same time. The future is now, and taking it step by step is all we can do. No need to compare yourself to others or put yourself down about things you can’t accomplish.

You can only do your best and if your best is what you gave, then all you can do is smile and try your best the next time. Easier said than done; trust me, I know, but the alternative is to give up and we know we can’t do that. So although we may be denied over and over, one day our acceptance will come and it will be more rewarding than anything you’ve ever imagined.