As I am coming to the end of my first semester as a college student, I begin to reminisce about life before college. I remember how I would scroll through Instagram and consistently see pictures of college freshman having the time of their lives. College seemed like an amazing getaway and I absolutely could not wait to go. Finally, the time came, and I was thrown into my first week of college. Within just the first day of being what felt like stranded at a school where I knew nobody, I realized college is not exactly the same as the Instagram pictures made it seem like.

Living in New Jersey, I am about seven hours away from home, give or take a half an hour. Most of my friends go to school in-state, so seeing their easy transition to college only made things harder for me.

My first week in college was rough, to say the least. Nobody really tells you about the loneliness and feeling of being simply lost that you'll go through at one point or another, so this came as a pretty bad shock to me.

Thankfully tailgates and football games started to arise, giving me something to distract myself with. Excited and ready to experience college football, my roommate and I headed over to our first tailgate.

I was speechless.

Never had I seen that many college students all in one place at once. We made our way over to one of the frat backyards and began to push through the sea of maroon and orange.

My roommate, being from Virginia, saw about 5 people she knew within the first two minutes of arriving. I tagged along, saying hi and introducing myself to these strangers, while the only thought going through my head was how much I missed my friends at home.

Feeling alone in a crowd of hundreds of people, was a feeling I had never experienced until this day.

Despite this isolated feeling, I still took a few pictures and ended up posting one on Instagram. Scrolling through, you would have probably seen my picture and thought I was having the time of my life and nothing less than that. In reality, we only post what we want others to see. Do you think I am going to post a selfie of myself crying in my dorm room on a bad day? Is that a joke? Never in my right mind!

What I'm trying to prove, is that nobody will boast about the days they are homesick, feeling lonely, or just sad. You may find yourself sitting in your bed viewing these cheery, spirited pictures, wondering why you aren't feeling that way. Everyone shares the highs in their lives, but keep the lows to themselves. Now don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing.

College is overall great, and even though it is scary sometimes, eventually we all find our way. Not only is college a place to get an education, but it is a place to further explore yourself.

All I'm trying to say is that we cannot compare our reality to Instagram or other social media because people only show what they want you to see.