The reality of my summer-before-college "vacation" has mostly panned out to be pretty exhausting. Ordinarily, my day (very rudely) began at six in the morning, work at eight, and finishing around four.

At the beginning of the summer, the hours from four in the afternoon until the next morning usually consisted of me complaining about being too tired to work, too tired to clean, and frankly just too tired to handle my everyday responsibilities (as well as raiding my kitchen cabinets for any and all marginally edible items in the house).

It was a rude awakening to find out how unprepared I was for a 40-hour work week.

However, today, marking the last days of my first summer working full-time, I've noticed that I've become much more resilient and far more disciplined.

Working as a camp counselor these past few months, I definitely saw my sense of responsibility grow. As the older sister to two wonderful (but sometimes wild) younger siblings, I've always believed myself to work well with kids. Yet working with around 50 kids a week, from the rambunctious age of three to the rebellious age of seven, is a completely separate situation.

Despite the struggle of trying to understand the needs of numerous young personalities that usually just didn't care to work with me (or anyone else for that matter), I survived the summer and my endurance developed for the better.

Now when I go home, I am more than ready to start the next day and excited to find myself with a new challenge. The same will ring true for my next educational challenge.

One of my top concerns for starting college was not being ready for the rigor of the coursework, whether or not I'd have the mental stamina to keep up with six classes and extracurricular activities. However, going from a full-time coach potato to being on my feet eight hours a day proves that I am capable of adapting.

Perhaps it'll take a couple of weeks to adjust to my new schedule, but I can absolutely ready for it all. Knowing that I can handle going from a few college-level courses to life on campus is reassurance that the transition will be just fine.

As much as I hated waking up before my dog every day (and sometimes before the sun), working as a camp counselor made me a more devoted, determined student ready to face higher education.