I graduated from K-State in May of 2016. I was so terrified to graduate. I would cry constantly, thinking about all of the freedom that I would lose when I graduate and how lonely adulthood sounded. These ideas were further reinforced when I would talk to college graduates.

They would say "don't graduate!" or "college is the best years of your life." So, when I did walk and leave the place I called home for three years I assumed that was the peak of my life. I'm not going to lie, the first several months were incredibly difficult, but as time went on I found my place in adulthood.

Then, I realized that the things people said about college being the best years of my life were a lie. You choose when the best time of your life is.

Don't get me wrong I had a very fun time in college. That was the time when I fully found myself and made the greatest friends I have ever had in my life. When I first left I was lonely, because it is sometimes hard to make friends when you are an adult. The friends that I did make were in different positions in their lives and I could not hang out with them as easily.

I did find people that did actually matter in my life though. My best friends from college still stay in contact and we hang out as much as we can. I did find though, that it is ok to spend some time with yourself. Being alone for a period of time is necessary to figure out who you truly are. Through that alone time, I found what made me happy, the choice of finding joy in my everyday life.

There are still stressors in adult life, but what I stress about is far different from what I was scared about in college. I do not have teachers or sorority leadership telling me what I need to do. I am on my own. The only people I need to answer to is my boss, my landlord, best friends, and my boyfriend.

My stress level has gone down drastically. I no longer have to worry about tests and papers. When I come home from work the only thing I have to focus on is what episode of "Game of Thrones" I am on.

I do have to worry about bills, but I am now able to make enough money to pay what I need to pay. When it comes to making sure someone is ok, I only ask my boyfriend and best friends if everything is alright.

Instead of focusing on partying or people around me I figured out who I am as a person. This journey was difficult, there was a lot of tears and battles. Through that, I am a shiny new warrior with a past that makes me a better, whole person.

College is not the best years of your life. You will rise, you will figure out how to navigate adulthood. Your early twenties will not be your peak. You will adapt and find that you are in charge of your life, not the stage of life that you are in.