When I saw my acceptance letter for college, a big yes written across the top, I thought I knew what to expect. I had a couple older friends who would come home for breaks and tell stories about all of it; dorm life, parties, awful professors. When I thought of college, I thought of their experience, and I thought that would be mine. But nothing could have prepared me for my first year. None of the movies I'd seen (though I must say, "22 Jump Street" and "Pitch Perfect" probably aren't the best movies to base my understanding of college off of) or stories I heard could compare to the wild ride that was my freshman year at college.

It's not that I thought I would be friendless, it's just that I never could have imagined making as incredible friends as I have made. I had this perception that I would have late nights with friends full of laughter and stories we didn't want to repeat in the morning, but that actual nights, laughter and crazy stories included, have been better and funnier than my wildest dreams. I've made some of the best memories of my life here, with these people, an at this point it's hard to think about my life without these people and these memories to reflect on.

I knew I'd want to join clubs here, to meet other people and to do things other than schoolwork, but I never realized that the organizations I joined would become as important to me as they are. All throughout high school I was involved in things, but I would look at my extra curriculars as resume builders, as activities I participated in so that I wasn't doing nothing at all. But in college, I've found that the organizations I'm willing to give my time to are ones that I'm extraordinarily passionate about, and I'm thankful to have that outlook in my life.

As a typical teenager, schoolwork isn't my favorite thing in the universe, but I've found in college that taking classes I'm actually interested in makes all the difference. Taking physics because it's required by my high school is one thing, but taking a class focused on a particular interest of mine is more exciting, interesting and worth working for. But it's not just classes that I need for my major, I get to take interesting classes on random subjects –– classes I never thought I'd be able to take. When I thought about schoolwork in college I thought it would be the same drag as high school, but it's proven to be so much better.

I've been incredibly lucky with my college experience so far. I have incredible friends, am part of crazy fun organizations, love my classes, and am having a generally amazing time. Not too long ago, I was getting ready to wear a gown and cap, and thinking about the opportunities in my future. It's not been what I expected, but it's been wilder, more fun and so much better than I ever dreamed it could be.