College is defined as an institution of higher learning, especially one providing a general or liberal arts education, according to Dictionary.com. It is true - you will learn what major fits your interests best and you are given the tools to succeed in whatever career you choose.
But college teaches you so much more than just that.
Even when you have three hours of homework left and a paper due in the morning, if your best friend calls you crying, you go comfort her. If your boyfriend/girlfriend needs a hug, you put that pencil down and wrap your arms around him/her and be their strength. If it's 2 a.m. and your roommate(s) want to go to IHOP (shoutout for that 24 hour service), you go with them. Your homework will be there when you get back and you can sleep when you're dead.
If your mom calls in the middle of writing an essay, you stop your frantic fingers and talk to her. If your little brother's first football game is coming up, you drive home and sit in those bleachers, even if you have to miss a class to get there. If you're feeling homesick, take a weekend to yourself and be sheltered by the home that raised you. Sometimes that's exactly what you need - your homework will be there when you get back and you can sleep when you're dead.
Do not miss out on life because of the demands of school. You can finish your homework later or get one bad grade, but life doesn't wait. You can't push that off for later. Now I'm not saying "don't do your homework" or "go out and party instead of studying," not in the slightest bit. Alcohol does not come before studying for a test, sorry. But do not get so caught up in your books that you forget about actually living, because your homework will be there when you get back and you can sleep when you're dead.
I've had many nights where I won't crawl into my bed until 3 a.m., and others where I don't even leave until 3 a.m. I've pulled all nighters. I've stopped writing an essay because my best friend wanted queso from Qdoba, and I'm not going to say no to that. I've skipped class to go home and see my family, and I do not regret a single one of those moments. School is important, and it's why I'm here, but college itself has taught me how to be a better friend, girlfriend, sister, and daughter, and I didn't learn that from a $400 textbook.
After all, my homework will be there when I get back and I can sleep when I'm dead.
