College has been the best and worst thing to happen to me. I have experienced some of the highest moments in my life, but I’ve also experienced some of the lowest. Looking back over my freshman year, I have absolutely no advice for my pre-college self. There is just no way I could have prepared myself for this last year.
One of the most exciting things I got from coming to college was my first kiss. And then my first complicated situationship thingy (still not really sure what that was). And then my first heartbreak. I also met some of my best friends of all time and really learned the importance of female friendships. I have also been able to understand myself so much better.
Within the first month of the school year, I experienced a strange sensation that I still have trouble explaining. It was as if someone had suddenly turned the volume up and everything became more intense and loud. Or like I began to see everything in brighter colors. This is not to say that I did not enjoy my life before, I very much did, but college brought a new intensity to life.This could be from the independence I gained, amazing experiences with friends, or the excessive drinking, but it is still something I feel every day.
College has also forced me to become a much stronger person. I think it’s the independence that it brought that made me rely on myself more than ever. I have had to learn how to cope when faced with some of the hardest situations of my life and how to pick myself up when I’m down.
I have also had more fun than I have ever had before. College has been every cliche that has ever been said. Yes, I’ve had the best times of my life, I have met some of the best people in my life, and had some of the best experiences in my 19 years. I have also been extremely homesick, heartbroken, anxious, depressed, but it has all pushed me to a much higher understanding of myself and the world.
There were many times in middle and high school where I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I didn’t think I could handle the future, much less college. But here I am. I did it. And it was horrible and beautiful all at the same time. I regret so much, but at the same time nothing at all.
