"College is the best four years of your life!"

"I would do anything to go back to college."

"You're never going to make memories like this again!"

Ah, yes. The phrases we've all heard from our parents, friends and strangers about how perfect college is. However true these statements may be, they are leaving out one crucial fact that all college students deserve to know: college is hard.

For as many nights we'll have ordering cheese fries at 2 a.m., there will be nights where we are staying up until 2 a.m. studying for our cumulative exam the next day, doubting our ability to actually memorize those last five flashcards. Sometimes, happy hour will be replaced by grabbing a to-go salad on campus because we don't have any other time to eat between classes. There will be smiles and laughs and good memories, but there will also be tears and times we will wonder if we can handle every bit of work being thrown at us.

Yes, there are ways we students can help ourselves avoid these all-nighters and moments of self-doubt. We can get a planner! We can learn great time management skills! We can go to office hours and get to know our professors!

I'll admit, in theory, these are all great ideas. I've taken all of this stereotypical advice and more when I started my college journey a few years ago and still do my best to keep my planner as organized as possible and build strong relationships with my professors, especially the ones who actually take an interest into the lives in their students. But, the reality is, these habits simply can't be maintained on a 24/7 basis for every class.

By sticking to my planner this semester, I overbooked myself to the point where, if I was late by 15 minutes, my entire day was ruined and I would go into a full-fledged panic. I've tried to visit my professors' offices, but, sometimes, they're only there once a week and that exact time conflicts with another class.

While most professors will try to work with you to schedule some time, others find pleasure in not responding to emails or just not showing up to their office when they're supposed to be there. There is no rulebook that gives college students all the guidelines to maintaining perfect grades, having a healthy social life, staying active, sleeping at least 8 hours at night (ha, I wish), and, most importantly, maintaining a good mental health.

It's time to stop pretending as if college is this magical land where nothing bad will ever happen to you.

It's time to stop pretending that no one has ever felt tears to start to well up while trying to learn every piece of information on their test in two days from now, that no one has ever had fights with their best friends and that no one has hated living in their dorm because their neighbors insist on having impromptu sing-a-longs starting at midnight on a Wednesday. If we start accepting that stress, fear and worrying are all a normal aspect of college, we can start enjoying our four years a little bit more.

I'm not saying that I've been miserable for these past few years. In fact, I have had plenty of nights I wish I could relive and have made plenty of inside jokes. Without college, I would've never met some of the most important people in my life, taken spring break trips with my best friends and flown across the country to visit them and meet their families. College helped me learn how to live with a roommate, how to work with the laundry gods and successfully do three loads of laundry in one day (thank you, Tide Pods), and how to cook tacos without setting fire to my entire building.

There are plenty of memories and lessons I'll happily take with me after graduation, and I have college to thank for that. More importantly, I've learned that not every day is going to be my best. I will have days where I stress eat a box of Insomnia cookies, shed (more than) a few tears because my day seems to be getting worse by the minute and question why I try to push myself to be my absolute best on a daily basis. This. Is. Not. Abnormal. Do not think you are alone because you're feeling these things.

And, everyone else- instead of asking us what our major is, if we've nailed down an internship for the summer, or if we maintained that near-perfect GPA this past semester, ask us how we're doing, please.