Dealing with stress is pretty much a rite of passage in everyone’s life. There’s no avoiding it – at some point there will come a time when the bubble of comfort you existed in will pop and all of your responsibilities will slap you in the face. Welcome to adulthood.

When you’re a kid, everything is great. Your parents take care of you and you don’t have to worry about grocery shopping or mortgages because food is always in the fridge and you have a bed to sleep in at night. Really, all you have to worry about is doing decently in school to prepare yourself for some ambiguous future plan (and having fun, of course).

Personally, I wish I hadn’t wished away being a kid. Being an adult is great and all, especially since I can finally stay up past eleven. But, honestly, I miss mandated nap time. I miss running inside after countless hours of running around with the neighborhood kids to a home cooked meal. Compared to coming home to rice and beans after eight hours in the library, being a kid seems pretty great.

High school marks a period of time in which adult hood seems like it could be a thing but still isn’t, since you still live at home and all. But let me tell you, the transition from high school to college will blow your mind. They try to fool you in high school and lead you to believe that in college professors will check in on you and make sure you’re submitting your assignments and coming to class. Well, they don’t. In college, the responsibility falls primarily on the student and yeah adults (namely parents) check in every once and a while but ultimately, it’s up to the individual to stay afloat amidst a sea of new responsibilities.

Personally, the transition from high school to college was a culture shock. Going from a straight A student involved in multiple clubs and sports to one 1 out of 40,000 students at my university was scary – to say the least. And I’m not going to lie, it took me quite a bit of time to figure out how to adjust to the new lifestyle I dove straight into. I became frantic and anxious. “Oh no I’m not the star student I was in high school! I barely have any friends and, to be honest, I’m not sure if my major is right for me.” That pretty much sums up the thoughts that crossed my mind frequently surrounding my freshman year of college.

Yes - it’s scary. But you know what? Just like anything, it takes time to adjust. As a junior in college set to graduate next year, I’m not going to deny the overload of responsibility I have been confronted with. The trick is to take it one step at a time and follow your instincts. You have to follow the path that makes you happy otherwise, you’re beginning your adult life living the life someone else planned for you. Pop the bubble and just be you. There’s no other way to do it.