I was scared to say the least. Nervous. Anxious. Insecure. Unsure. I was about to start a brand new chapter of my life, while coming to terms with the fact that I was leaving such a huge chapter behind me. I was leaving behind my best friends, the comfort of my small town, my dog, Wegmans supermarket (which they don’t have down south) and hardest of all, my family. College was about to be a whole new experience, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.

Luckily, I’ve always considered myself to be malleable; able to fit in with whoever was around me, regardless of who they were. But here I was, moving halfway across the country to a city I knew nothing about with people whom I had never met. The day before move in, I questioned everything. Was I making the right choice? Will I make friends? Will I be able to survive without New Jersey pizza? But one single run in with an employee at a Nordstroms in Miami changed my entire energy going into school. “Be yourself regardless of what the crowd is doing”, she said to me. “People will respect you for being authentic. Do your own thing and the rest of the world will either jump on board or flee. You don’t need the ones who flee. You’re here to make something of yourself.”

The people who know me know that I am absolutely obsessed with college. People from home were surprised I even came home for winter break. My friends make jokes and say “Miami is never gonna get rid of you”. They aren’t wrong. College went from being one of the most terrifying and anxiety provoking experiences I was facing to one of the most rewarding and exciting chapters of my life. I feel that my first semester away at school has already given me an immense amount of knowledge, but that knowledge is not limited to what goes on inside the classroom. Don’t get me wrong, I am gaining so much knowledge from inside the classroom as well. My classes are not only fun, but incredibly insightful and motivate me to learn more day in and day out. But I truly believe that a lot of the learning in college comes from the development of relationships and the people you meet that come from all walks of life.

The final months of senior year will go faster than you could have ever imagined. Once college applications are done and admissions decisions start coming out, time begins to fly. Soon enough comes prom, and then directly after, graduation. Some of my best memories came from my last two months of high school, a time that seemed to flash before my eyes. It was so strange to me how most of the people I grew up with were about to become “that person I knew back in high school”. It will be hard to come to terms with accepting that a lot of people won’t stay in touch.

One of the hardest lessons I had to learn when I went away was that friends will come and go so quickly and it will be hard to accept when they go. But the people who are meant to be in your life will stay. As someone who cares so deeply about people, it 's hard for me to accept distance in my friendships. But sometimes, people need to go off and do their own thing without you. You meet an amazingly diverse variety of people at college, so even when you feel alone, you can always find someone to turn to. I am so glad that I challenged myself to really put myself out there when I got to school. When you first get to college, you meet a lot of people, so at first it may be difficult to figure out who your friends really are. But putting yourself out there will ensure that you are granted the opportunity to find "your people", and I am so grateful to have found mine, and even more grateful that I continue to find more of "my people" each and every day.

I also learned/am learning how to set boundaries for myself. Going out is great, but you are here to learn and get the most out of your education. You have to prioritize that. I go to a school where the nightlife scene is incredibly prominent. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out, but I’ve tried not to let my social urges keep me from excelling in what I am really here for. Going out is so much fun, but it won’t get you jobs. And for those who make the excuse “it’s just freshman year your GPA doesn’t matter yet”, they’re wrong. It all accumulates. Your low GPA will come back to haunt you. I feel that creating good relationships with professors is so important as well. These are real professionals in your field, so they are amazing mentors to have. This means being kind, showing up to class, and being active in the classroom. I keep thinking about what kind of name I want to make for myself while I'm here, which has been helping me stay on track with giving my all.

On the idea of making a positive name for yourself, be kind and take care of people. I've been realizing in college that those things do not get taken for granted. Gossip gets back to people, whether it's both good or bad, so speak kind on everyone and don't forget to give people the benefit of the doubt. There are so many people at school that you have just met, so you really have no idea what kind of backgrounds they come from. Unlike high school, in college, you don't have to worry about being "cool" anymore. And for the people that do, they're wasting their own time. Be yourself and do the things that you want to do. After first semester, I can already tell that the next four years are going to fly, so I don't ever want to be scared to take an opportunity because of what people will think.

My lack of fear that I developed first semester led me to join so many clubs and becoming more active than I could have imagined on campus. Someone asked me one time, "You are the busiest person I've ever met, why are you never stressed?" The answer was simple. I explained how I do of course get stressed, but I don't mind because I genuinely care about everything I do. I don't do anything because I have to, or because it will "look good" on an application. I get involved because I care so deeply about every organization I am a part of. So don't waste your time in school doing things you don't want to do. Find the things that bring you joy.

The most important lesson I learned is that every single thing happens for a reason. My mom has been telling me this since I was five year old, but I never really believed her until I came to school. It became so clear to me first semester why I ended up at the school that I did. I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. I was denied opportunities because other plans were on the horizon. People came into my life, but I don't think it was by accident. I came in contact with amazing mentors who are helping me thrive. When I was faced with disappointment, I was always soon presented with other opportunities that justified that disappointment. And on that note, when it comes to disappointment, don't take no for an answer. If you really want something, fight for it. Fight for the friendship you don't want to let go of. Fight for the person you spot in the crowd at a party. Fight to join that club or get into that class that had their deadline two weeks ago. College is short. College flies. Take advantage of every moment. I'm only one semester in, and I already wish I could turn back time.