If I had a penny for the number of times I heard, “Enjoy college, it will be the best four years of your life!”, I would be rich. Now if only my college experience was as good as theirs. If you’re heading into college or currently a freshman, I would like to tell you that if college is not the best four years of your life, it’s okay and you are not the only one.
I went into college thinking that it would be the best four years of my entire life. Unfortunately, during the spring semester of my freshman year, a worldwide pandemic hit and I was forced to move back home and figure out how to do classes from my home in Florida. This separated me from not only all my normality but also all of the new friends that I was just getting comfortable with.
Fast forward to my junior year, I had to face something that no 20-year-old should face: my mom passing away. I took my junior year spring semester off and moved in with my dad again. This rocked my world; honestly, I’m still healing and will be for the rest of my life. I don’t think this is what they meant by it being the best 4 years.
But back to my original point: Life is not perfect and it’s okay if you are struggling through this time in your life in order to get your degree. I wish that I realized this when I went into my freshman year, but life happens, and that is normal. I also want to reiterate that life is not perfect and even though other people’s lives may seem perfect and put together on social media, they are most likely also going through things that they don’t speak about.
College is difficult and that is not something to be taken lightly. It is also only around four or so years of one’s life. There is so much more life that is to be lived after college and that is something that I find quite exciting. Yes, I may not be surrounded by my friends all the time anymore, but post-grad life holds so much great potential, and that is something great.
