When you enroll in college, you have two choices: Either you invest all of your time in "university life" and get involved with all things that have to do with your campus, or you branch out and find things of interest that don't always pertain to where you are receiving your degree. If you find yourself spending most of your time with people who are at your campus and are involved with your school's activities, great! You have integrated pretty well within your school, and that's what universities usually want you to do.

However, I moved directly off of campus after my freshman year, acquired an internship in the city and even branched out to starting friendships with people from different schools, and I wasn't even halfway done with my sophomore year.

You expand your friendships.

I live around baltimore, and with Towson, Loyola, UMBC, MICA, Johns Hopkins, Goucher and University of Baltimore all within a 10-mile radius, there are a lot of college-aged people. There are so many opportunities to spend time with and meet people who are outside of your campus. While gaining a presence at your college could be beneficial, you are only there for a few years. I got to see other campuses and got to know other types of people. I've spent nights outside of Towson's uptown and off-campus house parties and experienced Loyola bars and even in downtown Baltimore, Fed Hill and more. I found myself expanding my relationships with people that I wouldn't have met just on campus. I even met people who have already graduated and these are the people that have become some of my closest friends here.

You visit more places and go on more adventures

Now, for freshmen who don't have cars at school, this is a little hard with timing buses and shuttles, and campus life is usually a better choice. But once you have a car with you and housing with no rules, adventuring is endless. I found places to hike around town, awesome restaurants around Baltimore, and when you meet more people, you find the means to go-places. I was lucky enough to visit D.C. last fall for the first time ever and visit museums that I've dreamed of visiting for years. I saw the White House and all the touristy things I could've pictured. Sure, campuses will have groups and programs that set up dates and times to go with people from your school, but for individual people who just like going with the people they want to spend time with, stepping outside your campus can have perks.

You get experience in the real world.

Going outside the college bubble, you will realize what being in the real world is like after graduation. Some people get internships at their campus, and that is awesome. In my case, I was lucky enough to land an internship for The Walters Museum in the middle of Baltimore. I got to feel what it was like to go into the city and have experience in the setting that I love the most. I was around all ages and met people from all other educational backgrounds. Now that most of my close friends have already graduated, I get a look into what it is like to live as a post grad. I get to see what it's like trying to get a job. When you are not trapped in the college bubble, you realize that learning who hooked up with who last night and who passed out where is not something you want to fill your conversations with. You find other things to talk about. If you get involved with the community outside the dorms, you find out better places to hang out. For me, I have experienced so many fun attractions in Baltimore like the Visionary Art museum, Artscape, The Inner Harbor, Loch Raven Reservoir, and plenty more.

You rush yourself with life plans

With having a friend circle who is mostly completed with their undergrad, I think that I often rush myself into wanting to get to that next level in life. While I am only halfway through my undergraduate education, I feel as though I am behind because I am not working a big girl job that pertains to my major. I forget that I am not even close to getting my degree. Sometimes I think I am not as good as all of my friends who are older than me. Relationships shouldn't be a concern for me, yet I look at people who are almost about to get married and think why I am not even receiving a text from the male species for a week. But I keep reminding myself that I am right where I am supposed to be, and nothing is wrong with me for spending my time working hard at school. I have to remind myself that I shouldn't stop myself from searching for entry level jobs that have a salary.

Maybe you are a little like me and understand what it is like when you are only at your campus for class, and then live life outside of the bubble. Some people find this quality a disadvantage for college life. But if you go to school with so much more to offer than just the campus, do yourself a favor and expand your horizons!