An endless amount of feelings enters an incoming college freshman's mind while awaiting their first day of college to begin. For me, it was a mixture of nerves, confusion, happiness and excitement. As I packed up to begin my new life 870 miles away and left my old life behind, all I could wonder was what was going to happen within the next couple of months. Would I make friends? Would I do horribly in school? Would I be homesick? After settling into my new dorm room and letting tears roll down my face as I said goodbye to my family, I repeatedly told myself to become comfortable with the uncomfortable. Little did I know, my life would take a 180 all for the best.

Throughout high school, I struggled with anxiety and unhealthy eating habits. I feared for what college would bring as I was now on my own and no longer had someone watching over me at all times. As my first semester took off, I discovered myself learning to love myself all on my own. I had always enjoyed working out, but often feared that everyone around me was talking about me. That drove me to a dangerous mindset of being conscious of every little thing that I ate. However, it was my time being independent at college that I became comfortable with enforcing a new and healthy lifestyle, which ended up being for the best. It was the first time in a long time that I felt happy and content with myself. Although my anxiety still played a present role in my life, I comfortably learned to seek help on my own college campus. At home, I had feared and hid the fact I was seeing a therapist because I convinced myself that it meant something was wrong with me. Once becoming comfortable, though, I recognized that it made me stronger. I was able to accept my anxiety and eating habits, and acknowledge that every day was not going to be a walk in the park, but that I was going to knock it out of the park some day soon.

As one enters their first year, the thought of leaving high school friends behind and creating new friends may seem scary. In high school, I developed a habit of pushing my good friends away because of issues that I was dealing with inside, but did everything in my power to make sure that they did not know. Through that, I became uncomfortable with making friends in college as I feared that I would push them all away as well. Nonetheless, just within my first week, I came across a multitude of incredible people that have allowed me to become comfortable with my own self and put my habit of pushing people away for good. Being surrounded by such warm-hearted people every day, laughing about simple things, allowed me to recognize the greatness of college and all that it does.

In the end, it is the difficult times that I faced before college that I am thankful for, as it allowed me to grasp every bump in the road with an open mind. Through the simple phrase: "becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable", my mind set changed for the better. Therefore, my challenge for you is to discover your weaknesses and become comfortable with the once uncomfortable.