College sucks.

College will ruin you.

College makes you a better person.

College will change your life.

In college, you’ll learn what it means to over commit, overcompensate, and overeat. In college, you will meet true friends and make memories you will never forget. Why is it that people constantly say such conflicting things about these ominous “college years”?

To be entirely honest, college does suck. As I immerse myself deeper into my sophomore year of university life, I have discovered countless difficulties and trials I could not have imagined inside my naïve senior year brain. From day one, in creeps the itching anxiety of having to meet so many new people during freshman orientation. As many of those fast friends fade away, you begin to question what friendship really is, and why people can and will hurt you in such deep and lasting ways. Then, you will begin enduring midterms; coupled with caffeine induced hysteria and weekly 12-page-papers for a measly three credits. College is brutal. Living in the dorms leaves you socially exhausted, and there are some days when you just want to be able to poop in peace without two girls singing karaoke in the showers, and another one doing her makeup in the same room. Merely a year into this college thing and already there have been countless nights when I have sat with my friends and one of us genuinely believes we have completely lost our minds.

All this to say, I did not drop out of college or go running for the hills after day two. I am still here, still in the dorms, still overbooking, compensating, and eating. Why? Because of the people. Those girls singing in the shower are still two of my best friends at school. I am grateful for those eternal nights because I am working with professionals in my field of interest every day and am being pushed to work harder and think deeper about real life. In between the chaos, you make those ridiculous memories of pumpkin races or paint wars or even just deep talks over tea and a good movie. Seeing other people pursuing their passion right alongside you while getting to know their stories invites a new way to view each being in this world. Those dark moments help every other moment seem brighter, and that is what people remember when they step off the college campus into the rest of their lives.