As summer flies by and college move-in starts to creep up from around the corner, I can't help but think about the upcoming year ahead. When I think that I am going to be entering my junior year of college, I freeze. How have two years gone by so quickly? All around us we are faced with recently graduated high school seniors, eager to start their journey as freshmen. Then there are the rising sophomores, who have conquered their first year of college and now are ready to enter back into school, knowing all of the ropes. There are the rising seniors who are ready to live it up and make the most of their last year of undergrad, before they enter the "real world.” But then, there are the rising juniors. And where do we stand?

There comes a time in your collegiate life where you begin to question what you want to reallydo with your life. Sure, it is fun to go out every weekend and party with your best friends. It's fun to stay out till 3 AM eating pizza and burgers and regretting it all the next morning. But aside from all of the fun, the real reason you are in college is to plan your future. Now, being officially halfway done with my undergrad education, I am really starting to question what my own future holds.

Everyone has an idea of what they want to do. They know what field they are interested in, what classes they want to take to pursue those interests, and they may even have a profession in mind that they want to do. However, college is the time where you are faced with so many obstacles and factors that can make you question those plans once, twice, maybe even three times. I just want you to know that it is OK to be confused sometimes. You may not do as well in a class as you hoped, but it is not the end of the world. You may have a breakdown when trying to decide if you want to go to grad school or not, but it's not the end of the world. There are so many options and roads that you could take after college that can get you to the place you want to be. So many people think that in order to create a good life for themselves, they must follow in some specific path crafted for us by society.

It is important to remember that nothing is set in stone. You are going to college to ultimately figure out what you want to do with your life--you don't have to have it all figured out. College is the best four years of your life and if you spend every minute stressing out about little things that you believe could "jeopardize" your future plans, then you are going to miss out on so much. So don't let the stress of jobs, internships, or the GRE make you forget the good aspects of college. It goes by way too fast, and any rising junior or senior is jealous of the time that the freshman and sophomores have left.

Don't let the stress of the future ruin the experiences of your present.