Am I crazy if I say that I actually am really loving college? I hope I'm not. Well, this is my first year attending college at Villa Maria (back to the bottom of the chain, lol) and I'm absolutely loving it! I'm not sure if it's because I fell in love with the small campus or the small class sizes or the fact that this school had my major but, whatever it is, I'm glad it's there.

College has definitely changed me for the better. For one, I'm not as shy as I used to be in school. Within my first two days at Villa Maria, I made a ton of friends! Meanwhile, in high school, it took me three to four years to make friends and get comfortable with them. And after all of that work in high school, I graduated and am no longer close with anyone from that school.

Secondly, I joined the Villa Maria Women's Soccer team. I honestly never pictured myself playing a college sport but hey, here I am, playing in my first college soccer game on Saturday! The best part, is that our team is always working together to help each other- not working to tear each other down. We have all gotten to be very close and I can't wait to see where the season takes us!

Third, I have learned to be more independent. I have always been an independent girl but, in college you're more on your own and have to do things on your own. Even though I'm living at home still and commuting to school, I rarely see myself asking my parents for money or anything. If I need money to buy things, I always have my wallet and I have a savings account where I have my money saved up.

Fourth, its been an easy going week so far but, I know that will change soon. With all of this craziness, comes stress for me. I've learned to just let things flow and play out rather than for me to constantly stress about it. Keeping my sanity when I get a ton of work, is definitely important (especially since it's so early into the school year). I work hard and when I feel overworked, I have to take a break and just breath. Let things calm down and let my brain cool and get back on track.

Last, but not least, I've learned and loved to get involved with things on campus. From joining the soccer team to getting accepted to be apart of the honors program, it's definitely a fun way to meet new people and become more comfortable with the campus and the staff. I also began writing for this website (The Odyssey), as apart of the Villa Maria community and it's something new, yet so much fun for me! Next, I can't wait to sign up for clubs and hopefully, but surely, make new friends!

So, it's definitely safe to say that everyone has different college experiences. Mine has been amazing so far, meanwhile every other college freshman who tweets on twitter, doesn't seem to be having the greatest time yet. My advice to all current college freshman and soon to be college freshman, is that you should definitely embrace this new chapter in your life. Be outgoing and don't be afraid to be yourself. And to all of the people out there that told me that "high school will be the best four years of my life," I want you to know that you were wrong. I KNOW college will be the best four years of my life, hands down!