When I was getting ready to graduate high school, I had so many people tell me that college was going to be the "best four years of my life." By the time I walked across the stage to get my diploma, I had in engrained in my brain that I was about to embark on a journey that was going to flip my life upside down.

And it did. Boy, college really did change my life....but not in a good way.

I'm almost halfway through my senior year, and I can confidently say that these last four years have been the worst years of my life. Now, maybe I just have really shitty luck or maybe when people were telling me how great it was going to be, they failed to mention a few things. It has me wondering if maybe we've all been conditioned to believe that college is this great experience when it's actually terrible and no one has the bravery to break the stigma.

No one warned me how much college was going to wreck havoc on my anxiety and my depression. I've always struggled with my mental health, even dating back to middle school, but no one told me that college was going to amplify it. When you're in college, there's really no room for "breaks" or "times to relax." Even when you're on an academically scheduled break, you still have homework to do. You're constantly on the go, trying to balance your academics, social life, work, etc. And even if you do decide to take what I like to call "mental breaks," they don't come without consequences.

It's not even just the academics side of college that has really taken a toll on me, it's the social aspects of it too. I constantly feel as if there's some kind of mold I'm supposed to fit into, but I don't. Maybe, in the long run, I had just picked the wrong college to attend.

I've had my strength tested so much over the last four years. I've lost count of how many times I legitimately considered dropping out. Why don't more people talk about how anxiety-inducing college is? Why don't more people talk about the effect it has on your mental health? Am I the only one that has experienced something like this?

I get college is supposed to be hard. It's not supposed to be this situation where you just show up to class, do the bare minimum, and then pass with flying colors. But in some cases, it kind of feels like the survival of the fittest. It's just so mentally taxing, and I think that is my biggest problem with it.

I do want to point out that not everything has been terrible during my college experience. I have met some incredible people and have embarked on some amazing adventures that I wouldn't have otherwise experienced. But I can't say that once I graduate, I'll miss it.