Transitioning from high school to college can be hard for anyone. For a person with anxiety, the pressure of making life altering decisions like this one can be crippling. There is so much to think about, where am I going to live? Where will I go? Will they accept me? How am I going to afford it?

I was one of those overly anxious people, constantly thinking about my future. I am here to say it is not that bad and in the end everything will work out. It is not about getting into your first choice and it is not about making decisions as fast as other people. Things may not always work out how you plan them in your head, but they will work out. The one thing to focus on is getting through those messy moments in life. I always say to myself, “Life has this habit of getting crazy all at once, I just have to wait until I am past it.” The biggest disservice one could do to themselves is not trusting that he could push through and make it out alive.

I have been at SUNY New Paltz for one semester and am currently in my second semester. I must say college is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I do nothing, but strive to make myself a better person, although just like everything else, it is a process. The beauty of messing up in college is correcting yourself before you reach the working world. I make mistakes all the time but I do not let them hold me back because by focusing on that one mistake how can I take care of my other responsibilities?

In high school, we were surrounded by people we have known for a good portion of our lives. We are fundamentally obsessed with each other; always wondering how to make ourselves feel better by putting others down. College is not like that at all. No one cares about what you do as an individual. We are all people with the same goal to be better than we are. We are all getting a degree and taking a stab at life.

College is full of opportunities to be who you want to be. Personally, I have started to find my place in the world. I have begun to find comfort among my peers once again. I am beginning to start a life that is ran by my decisions and there is hope for the future, not stress.