It’s been a year since you decided what college you were going to, and how your future was going to play out. It’s been a year since thoughts of growing up truly began to settle in. It’s been a year since you looked your mom in the eye and saw how much she already missed you.

What just went through your mind?

a. Holy crap

b. WHAT THE FLIPPING EXPLETIVE

c. Dude, I’m freaking old

d. Why did you have bring up my mom, dammit, you tryna make me cry?

e. Both a and c

f. None of the above, cause I keep it real *does running man*

For many of you, your freshman year of college is in its final stages, and you’re beginning to look at the place that housed you for almost a full year with the same look your mother gave you before you left. You might have prospective freshmen dawdling about with expressions of awe and apprehension, and you’ll look at them and laugh at how much is ahead of them, at what they’re getting themselves into.

Because you went through a lot. It doesn’t matter what college you’re at, and it doesn’t matter what advice your relatives or collegiate professionals offered— the college experience forces us to redefine who we are. I guarantee you have been broken down in the past months, questioned who you really are and how you fit into this world. You’ve been forced to adapt, to develop a perspective on life that doesn’t allow ridiculously rigorous classes or unsubstantiated friends to creep under your skin and make you feel like you don’t belong where you are now. There have been times when overwhelming sadness has surprised you in the rare emptiness of your dorm room, and there have been times when it's smacked you in the middle of a party. And there might have been times when the fear of finding yourself almost sent you away.

But look at you now: nostalgia is already running through your veins (better than alcohol, as some of you may have learned) and you realize you can’t wait to come back next year. Because you’ve discovered people that fill you up, and who let go of tension and negativity in the same ways that you do. At this point, you understand that you’re closer to your mission– what you want to do in the world – than ever before, and more importantly, you’ve learned how to step over obstacles that stand in the way. You’ve learned to laugh and enjoy the company around you even when an essay is due in two hours, and you’ve solidified the best way to celebrate when the midterm you studied so hard for came through.

At the intersection of the bad and the good, you’ve discovered parts of yourself that you’re proudly displaying in your smile, your dress, or your interaction with the people around you. Because in all honesty, self-discovery is the most prominent gift college can give you. Yeah, sure, a career and professional development is good, and the friends you make are wonderful, but none of that matters if your soul isn’t aligned to the world around you. That being said, you definitely don’t fully understand who you are yet; however, the college experience gives us enough of ourselves to encourage us to keep going, to be positive about our own self-actualization and to pursue the exciting things in life that will teach us who we are.

So, enjoy your last few weeks and maybe meditate a little, to center yourself on how far you’ve come. From a fellow college freshman, I want to say how proud I am of all of you, because we’ve come so far and there are still so many exciting shenanigans coming our way.

Stay real, and stay positive. :)