Transitioning from a high school senior to a college freshman is easier said than done. As a high school senior, deciding on my college interior and picking my roommate seemed like so much fun. As college started to near, I became more excited to pack up and leave home, but also nervous; nervous about leaving my home, friends, family, and everything familiar to me.

My first week away from my hometown — and away from my mom — was harder than I ever could’ve imagined. Going from living in a room by myself to living with two roommates was near impossible, and I thought we would never be close friends. Moving from high school level to college level courses was scary, and trying to meet people in those classes was even scarier.

After a month went by, I met a lot of people. I had a good amount of friends and still more people to meet. I spent every night in my friends' dorms, finally realizing what a good time felt like. After a few weeks of that I started to stay in my dorm more often and became extremely close with my roommates. To this day we still say that we never expected to become as close as we did.

When we all parted for winter break, I realized some things about my life like how much I missed my friends from home and my family. I didn’t want to leave to go back to school because I loved home so much. Going back seemed like torture to me. But when I wasn’t busy with my friends from home, I was on the phone with my roommates, Hannah and Madison, and my other best friend, Melissa. These people were the only reason I was excited to go back.

The whole way back to school I was nervous. It felt like I was leaving for the first time again, and I didn’t think I was capable of leaving home again. When my family finally left, and I was alone in my room, I was on the verge of tears, until I heard a knock at my door. When I opened it I was excited to see Melissa, and we caught up on everything that happened over break. Soon after, my roommates came back and it felt comfortable again.

Since we’ve been back, the three of us hang out every day and hardly leave the room, and that is okay. I have since realized that these three people are my best friends and will be for a long time. Although sometimes we sit in our room and wallow in self-pity over how we have no friends, we know that it will be okay because we have each other.

So, what I’ve learned from my first semester of college is this: I learned that it is okay to call your mom more than three times a day because you miss her. I learned that not everyone is going to like you. I learned that not all of your friends are going to be your best friends. I learned that not every class is going to be easy, but you will make it through. I learned that everything will be okay even though it may not seem like it now. And finally, I learned that you just need to find a small amount of people that you know will have your back through everything, and once you do, there is nothing else to worry about.