Halloween is an easy day to use as a “one year marker” for my time at Stetson University. August and September of 2014 went on with me trying to figure out how to live with my best friend, make it to all my classes on time, and figure out what shows to binge on Netflix with all this extra time I had acquired. It was not until October that I was able to completely acknowledge that I was, in fact, a college student, despite my easy acclimation to the lifestyle. From Halloween of 2014 to Halloween of 2015, I have changed in so many ways, and it is crazy to think of how many of those changes have happened because of the university I chose to go to. Stetson has taught me more valuable lessons than I can ever imagine in just a single year.

I’ve learned that it is not the end of the world if you don’t get the job.

Rejection is a part of life, and it is not the end of the world! I applied to be a FOCUS Leader and didn’t make the final cut. I applied to be a Student Ambassador and again didn’t make the final cut. I rushed for a sorority, twice, and was released from formal recruitment twice for two different reasons. It isn’t the end of the world. Sometimes these rejections can help you realize what it is you truly want and can add fuel to the fire chase after what you really do want.

Life is all about moderation and balance.

You can go to the gym and eat healthy. You can eat the cupcake and still not go to the gym later. You can eat the pizza and go to the gym. You can sloth all weekend and not even glance at your closet for pants. Everything is completely fine in moderation. A cupcake won’t set you back a week in the gym, skipping the gym is ok every now and then, and if you want to sloth for a weekend, you can. It’s just important to know how to balance things in your life and how to moderate.

The classics are classics for a reason.

Yes, I am referring to every Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and black and white movie. After watching Funny Face or Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I always find myself valuing things differently. It is the same with novels. Find a nice day, a patch of grass, and submerse yourself into another world for a little while.

You really do find out who your real friends are.

My best friend and I have openly admitted we complain about each other all the time. I will complain about her to a friend back home, and she will complain about me to hers. The relationship I have with my best friend on this campus is special and one of those really powerful friendships you see a few times in a lifetime. I have another friend who I haven’t seen in months (and that was the first time in years), but we talk every day and are still just as close now as we were in Kindergarten. My closest friend that I think I will ever have is still back at home, and I talk to him every single day about every single thing, even though I have seen him once (in line at Publix, strangely enough) in about two years. Then there is the third corner to my high school triangle of friends, whose house I practically lived at this summer, and she’s always going to be there for me. But some of my closest friends from high school I never speak to now. Others have changed in college and we have parted ways. My time at Stetson has taught me to truly value the friends I have, the ones I can turn to for anything, and the shoulders I have to cry on when I need them.

It is possible to live without eating meat and to go without certain things you used to think you needed. If you need them, there are cheaper alternatives.

Granted I still eat poultry and fish (though that may change in the near future), I have not eaten pork, beef, or buffalo (except once and I cried after that burger….) in a year. I don’t miss it. I don’t need it. I don’t need a toaster, even though I always used the one at home. I don’t need an oven; most things are microwavable anyway. Most on-campus events offer free food, so if you’re crazing pizza, there’s a free solution. If you need something quick, check Dollar Tree first ( my can opener is still going strong, two years later, so some of it is quality stuff!), and Big Lots has some really good deals on things as well (Gossip Girl Season 4 for $4)!

I love college.

I am not trying to be Asher Roth. I just love college, and everything about it. I don’t want to leave. This is the only time where my best friend is my roommate or just down the hall, the only time when you make friends with random people because you’re all crowed around the common room television for American Horror Story, and the only time that you can literally make a 2 am walk to Starbucks because you can’t function anymore and need a break.

In the last year, Stetson has spurred so many life realizations, and has changed me into a better person. It’s hard to accept that in another semester it’ll be half over! I love my school and the people in it. Stetson has made me who I am, and I can’t imagine myself any other place but here!