Every year has its ups and downs, but for some reason that number of awful things that have happened just seem to be so much greater this academic year, and even worse than that is how this semester is going. Dear 2016, so far you aren't doing that great of a job of making our year great. Sometimes we just have to accept that life sucks, and that you just have to take your lemons and make lemonade.

I have seen some awful things happen to some really good people this semester, and it has only just begun. Here we are two months in, and words couldn't even begin to explain the crappy things that have happened. College is such an important time in everyone's life... or rather the age of a traditional college student, because lets face it, not everyone attends college, and there is nothing wrong with that.

This is a time for finding yourself. You learn so much about who you are as a person, as you step out on your own or as you decide that being at home is better for you. It takes a very mature person to admit that maybe they just aren't ready to live on there own yet. Some of the values and habits that you start in your college aged years will be the values and habits that continue on for the rest of your life. No one wants to create bad habits, however lets face it, life is hard, and sometimes people end up making decisions that they regret. I have found that it is so much easier to live your life without regrets, but one might ask how are you supposed to find yourself if you don't experiment a little and find out what you like and don't like. And that is exactly my point, you have to do those things to find yourself, but don't regret them. Mistakes happen.

If you regret dating someone, then you have gained nothing from that. Instead take what you learned from the relationship and use that to better yourself. Don't regret the nights you stayed up late talking with your friends, because those are the nights that you will always remember, even if you were really exhausted for class the next day. Don't regret the road trips that you take with your Little, and the adventures you take with your friends. Enjoy every moment. This is gonna sound cliche, but it is so true: life is too short to live with regrets. You have to try different things, and instead of regretting them when they don't work out, learn from them.

Try new things, and I am not saying go crazy, don't start trying every kind of drug on the market, and don't start dating everyone and their brother, but go try that weird food that you have never had before, or go take a road trip to a new city, do something daring. Date different people and learn what you like and what you don't like, so when the person that you are meant to spend the rest of your life with shows up into your life, you can recognize that that person was made just for you.

Life is hard, and anyone on the planet would probably agree. Evil definitely exists in this world, but don't let it control your life. Bad things happen to good people all the time. People lose their children, people lose their spouses or their parents. Loss is inevitable. Choose to be happy even through the pain. I know that that is probably the hardest thing to do when you are feeling pain, but look at your situation differently. You will feel better if you remember that there is a reason for everything. Use everything as a learning experience. It is OK to be sad, but don't dwell on it too long. Don't let your life fall into a dark hole, because crawling back out is going to be a long hard process, instead, just learn from your experiences and decide what kind of person you want to be as you go throughout your life.

Don't let misery or sadness control your life. Even when something bad happens, think about all the positive things you have in your life. Those could be very simple things, like having food in your refrigerator, having a roof over your head or even having amazing friends that care about you very very much. Whatever those things are just focus on those instead of the pain.

Grieve for whatever you have lost, or for whatever the source of your pain is, and then one day wake up and tell yourself that you aren't gonna be sad anymore and that you are no longer going to let the pain of that situation control your life. Take the time you need and then live for yourself, and allow your experiences to grow you and shape you into the person that you want to become and the person that you already are, you just haven't discovered yet.