As I am about to start my sophomore year of college, I can't help but think back to this time a year ago. As Snapchat memories reminded me of the uncertain, nervous, and quite frankly scared college freshman I was a year ago, I feel so grateful for the lessons and growth freshman year provided me with.

So much has happened this year. I am not the same person I was packing 18 years of my life to move away this time last year.

Even as a child, I knew that I wanted to go to college out of state. I wanted the adventure of starting over and meeting new, exciting people. But, when the reality set in that I was completely alone and didn't know a single person at my school, I began to question my decision. It surely would have been a lot easier to go to an in-state school where my high school friends went.

But, without the challenges of having to learn to accept discomfort and being on my own, I would not have grown as a person.

The first week of college was a blur. I met so many people, all were friendly and inviting, but I remember thinking to myself that they just weren't like the friends I had at home. I was homesick and counting down the days until I would be able to drive home. I thought that I had made a huge mistake going away to school, and seeing all my friends post pictures of them having fun at their schools did not help (later, I came to find out that they were feeling the same way).

Of course, looking back at the tough first few months of getting adjusted at school, I am so thankful for the challenges of making a new life for myself.

I now have some of the best friends I could ask for at school. It took a while to find my "people," but putting myself out there and talking to as many people as I could made all the difference. The people that I hung out with at the beginning of freshman year are not the same people that I called my best friends at the end of the year, and that's ok. It takes a while to build connections that will last, and some people are temporary in your life. Learning this made all the difference.

Freshman year was one filled with learning and growth as a person.

I can confidently say that I am a better, stronger person because of the challenges of learning to be on my own. As I begin to pack up and move back to school, instead of feeling scared, I am excited. My college has become my home, and the people I have met at school have become part of my family.

The biggest advice I can give to any freshman that are feeling the way I did is to accept the discomfort.

There will be times where you feel alone, but that's the farthest thing from the truth. It seems scary and hard at the beginning, but you will be fine. A year from now, you will be looking back and feel grateful for all the growth and lessons discomfort brings. So, hang in there and realize this is temporary, soon you will feel as though college is your home.