When I was getting ready for college, I had a long list of things I thought would determine whether I was successful or not. I thought everyone would be paying attention to what I wore, how many friends I had, and whether I always seemed busy. I imagined college as one giant performance where everyone was secretly keeping score. Looking back now, I realize most people were far too focused on their own lives to notice the things I was so worried about.

When going away to college, it’s typical to hear about how you finally become an adult because you’re doing your own laundry and cleaning your room. What they don’t tell you is how much you actually grow throughout those 4 years. You learn independence, how to put yourself out there, and most of all who you truly are as a person. 

As someone who is overly involved on campus, it’s safe to say that I would’ve probably transferred if I didn’t get involved. Getting involved doesn’t mean you have to be the president of every club or be at an event everyday. It’s important that you do save time for yourself to doomscroll and bed rot, but if you don’t get involved on campus, that can just lead to a miserable 4 years ahead.

Five-year plans… Well, considering that I barely know what I want to eat for lunch tomorrow, planning five years ahead makes me sick. In college they ask you a lot, “where do you see yourself in five years?” and I can confidently say I just really hope I don’t live with my mom. As much as people will try and stress to you why you should have one, I’m gonna tell you why it doesn’t matter.

Imagine you’re hanging out with a big group of people and they are all talking about something funny that happened and you have no idea what they are talking about cause you weren’t invited. Then they start making plans to go do something crazy and they don’t invite you. You have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re real and get past the fact that you aren’t invisible; instead, you just aren’t part of the plans. I know I said imagine, but it’s not something that I have to imagine cause being in college comes with the burden of feeling left out a lot.

At my University, there's only 6 sororities, which still feels like a whole lot. Our rush "week" is crammed into a high-stress, little to no sleep, sobfest weekend. Sounds like a blast, I know. I rushed freshman year which means I've been through recruitment three times. Once as the potential new member, or PNM, and twice as an active member of my sorority. To say I've hated every single recruitment is an understatement. When I rushed, there were only 5 sororities and after day 1 of recruitment, I got dropped by 4 of them. So safe to say I was one of those girls who hysterically sobbed all weekend, but I made it through and now I love it.

Kindergarten through high school, friendships almost felt automatic. You share your crayon with the girl next to you and suddenly you’re begging your parents for a playdate. After one playdate, you have those lifelong friendships that you barely have to think about how they came to be. If you’re like me, you chose a college where you won’t know a single person there, which means going back in time and trying to remember how you built the confidence to share the crayon and let it become a deeper connection.

Everyone always talks about their college freshman year roommate being that person that sticks with you for life and is the aunt/uncle to your children and you can’t live without. Well I sure hope that’s not true because what they don’t tell you is your freshman roommate might be the person you see around campus which results in you looking down at your phone hoping they don’t realize it’s you cause you wish you would’ve just submitted the transfer papers.

There are so many majors to choose from and sometimes it feels like the one you pick is a prison cell trapping you in and telling you, this is what you chose to do for the rest of your life, no backsies. But that's so untrue! Choosing a major that interests you and reflects your goals is really important, don’t get me wrong, but the devil isn’t going to come and set you on fire if you change your mind.

The world puts so much pressure on going to college and picking a major that is going to determine your entire adult working life. Maybe you were smart and decided you want to be a nurse and you go to nursing school and have a beautifully clear path to all of your dreams and aspirations. If you're someone like me, you probably see those nursing majors and get a little sick to your stomach because you're a communications major who can't seem to see past the diploma.