For all of the freshmen who are now venturing their way out of state to go to college.

For all the freshmen who cried saying goodbye to their family at the airport and who continued to cry through security and on to the plane as it took off.

For all the freshmen who are normally outgoing but did not speak more than two sentences their first day on campus.

You are going to be okay. You are going to do great. I know this because I was you four years ago.

Going far away from home for college was the best decision I have made in my 21 years of life. While it was absolutely terrifying at first, I am the person I am today because of being so far away from home.

Do I miss my parents and call them at least once a day? Yup.

Do I look through my hundreds of pictures of my dog and cry because I miss him and his cute little face? Absolutely.

Do I FaceTime my best friends weekly because of minor inconveniences? HA, yes, of course I do.

But because of being so far away from home, I've learned so many things. I learned how to do laundry by myself. I learned that food is actually expensive and that I need to start budgeting it out. I learned how to cook (kind of... it's still a working progress). I've learned how to deal with humidity, as well as crazy lightning storms. I've learned the importance of a phone call instead of a text.

I've learned that you have to treasure the moments you have with people because it might be a while before you see them again. Most importantly, I've learned that home is great, but sometimes you have to get away to appreciate it more.

If you're just now getting settled into your dorm and freaking out because you aren't going home until Thanksgiving, you are not alone, and you are going to be fine.

So stop panicking, because right now, you might have a countdown to Thanksgiving or Winter Break for when you can see your family and friends again. But I can promise you that once summer starts, that countdown will change to how many days are left until you're back in your college town, ready to see your new life-long friends.

College is great, so enjoy every moment of it, even if you miss home a lot. Pretty soon, you'll be an old senior looking back at your freshman year telling everyone how great the next four years are going to be, not believing that it's all almost over.