Change is all around us.

I witness change each morning when I look at the tree outside my window. Week after week, this tree has gradually taken off its luscious green coat and welcomed a yellow, orange, and finally, a beautiful red hue. Change is unmistakably present in our surroundings, just as it is in our new lives as college freshies, fresh meat, newbies, first-years -- call us what you may.

Firstly, change is evident in our surroundings. As a Miami native, coming to North Carolina has presented slightly different weather conditions. Yeah, sure, it's not as bad as a South Floridian going up to the Northeast for college, but 40-50 degrees in October easily seeps through my light trench coat.

Yet our environment is different in other ways as well. For those of us who came from small high schools, any undergraduate student population greater than 15,000 can be quite overwhelming. Well, it can be overwhelming for anybody, honestly. We will be seeing at the very least 1,000 unfamiliar faces every day from now until senior year. So yes, it can definitely be scary.

We have endured changes in our relationships, especially as we are separated from our family and most of our friends from back home. The second the car door slams shut, the moment we wave our family goodbye, we are expected to approach these new faces and form new bonds.

Students of all cultures, professors with varying perspectives, people from all walks of life.

Pretty soon you are scrolling past these new faces on your Facebook feed, your best friend on Snapchat is your classmate from across the hall. Nobody from your life before college has been replaced; more relationships have just been added to your life.

We have new tasks as well (woot). Homework is basically the same as always, and your study habits have pretty much followed you here. However, there’s this new thing called laundry (your sock collection can only get you through so many days) and this thing called cooking, if you don’t have a meal plan (EasyMac isn’t exactly nutritious). All of a sudden, there’s a vacuum, a Swiffer stick thing (with wet and dry pads), and this fluffy bunny-like duster stick in your room.

And all of these tools need to be used, like, pretty frequently. Pretty soon, you realize that you don’t have as much time in college as you thought.

So why exactly is change good?

Well, it’s about adjustment, about learning, about stepping out of our comfort zones. In the midst of all this change, we will gradually develop our own habits and discover more of our passions. We will grow not only as students, but as friends, sisters, and mentors to others. College is what we make of it, so we shouldn’t really be scared of change.

So take notice of the different leaf colors, and breathe in the autumnal breeze. Because seasons aren’t the only thing that’s changing.

And after all, change is good.