When I was finishing up my senior year of high school, I had no idea what college life would be like. I am the oldest in my family, so I did not have older siblings to prepare me for what I was about to encounter. I took many AP classes during my high school career and participated in several extracurricular activities, so I thought I was well-rounded enough to easily transition into collegiate life. I was so naive when I reflect back on that time in my life. When I started college, I struggled in all sorts of ways. Even though I struggled, I learned countless things from my first semester being at college that still impact me to this day. Here are the things college has taught me about friendships, work-life balance, and self-care.

One of the first people I met at college was my roommate. We started off as friends, but later, things went downhill. That was the first time that I had experienced that type of thing; Having a friendship go in a direction that I did not know how to fix. This turmoil allowed me to realize that we were genuinely very different people and that sometimes you cannot be friends with everyone. We both did things out of emotion and looking back, we are truly both to blame. Also, being roommates made things much more complex. In spite of all of my problems with my roommate, it forced me to meet others. That allowed me to gain one of my closest friends to this day.

In high school, I thought I had a solid balance between my social/personal life and school. As a result, when I came to college, I kept very similar study habits. After my first round of exams, it was evident that something was not working for me. Part of this may have been the fact that I had great high school teachers that would always push their students and I also had the support of my parents.

In my college town, there were always so many cool things going on and distractions everywhere. I also realized that college professors teach in a different manner. Most of the time, they leave much up to the students to discover and learn themselves. After much trial and error, I discovered that if I worked hard and diligently during the week, that I could, for the most part, go have fun during the weekends. Another thing that I realized was that even the smartest of students struggle and it is not a reflection of your intelligence or character if you have to ask for help from a friend, peer, or professor.

College can be so stressful. We have all had those weeks. You have a few exams, projects, and assignments all due and you are running on no sleep and a lot of coffee. Sometimes we get so caught up that we forget that we need to take some time for ourselves. Whether that being going to the gym, having a movie night with friends, or frolicking around town, you always need to decompress, especially after a very hectic week. After a long day, sometimes all you need is a face mask and a glass of wine to make your day a little better. And those nights when you go home and do absolutely nothing productive after class can be beneficial to your happiness and mental health.

College teaches you about life just as much as it teaches you about whatever field you are studying. Sometimes, the adjustment from high school to college can be hard but in the end, these are some of the best years of your life!