A very wise man once said, "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." Andy Bernard, the beloved alum of Cornell University and employee to Michael Scott of Dunder Mifflin in "The Office" could not have said it better. I know this quote from my days of binge-watching Netflix, the days of Pinterest-surfing and responsibility-evading. And in those days, I awoke from my queen-sized bed around 10 A.M, blissfully ignorant to the workload which I face today.

I am blessed to have begun my college adventure at Wofford College; the community is friendly, and the weather is beautiful— I cannot imagine undertaking the challenges of adulthood anywhere else. I can honestly say that my first week here at Wofford has been incredibly fun, but I write this from my extra-long, twin-size bed tucked cozily into my 6'x6' cinder block cube. I am no longer ignorant to the responsibilities of a college student but rather enlightened by the realities. I assure you, I remain blissful in my heart.

You see, the first week of college can easily get a young freshman down. The absence of supportive parents in conjunction with the radical change in routine and dietary accommodations might unsettle a weary soul. And so I tell you, it's all about the attitude. Write it on your heart that moving on is a good thing, and every day you'll wake up with positivity. One might open the door to my "bedroom" and wince at the limited space, but I boldly introduce guests to my "MTV crib" as if a gold-leafed mansion awaits my friend from behind the door. Another might groan at the thought of a dining hall meal, but any meal shared with friends is a meal well-spent. College is what you make of it.

I expect that my attitude may falter at times—and yours, too. I write here and now, procrastinating the completion of a significant amount of reading, but I fear not. Sleep is for the weak. Stress is easy to collect but hard to overcome, and in my experience thus far, an enthusiasm for learning counteracts that stress and keeps the spirits high. And now I share the sentiments of my older siblings, cousins, and friends who have relayed stories of their late-night struggles countless times.

I also love that I type pensively from my cube, glancing up from my screen to find a collection of photos from times past. Academia rings out from the pitter-patter of my keys and happiness emanates from the small polaroids, laughter and love frozen in time. So, I promise you (but maybe I just want to assure myself subconsciously) that it will be okay. That college will be great and fun and everything--including stressful and hard, complex and different. And maybe you will see the beauty in having a purpose, in the comforting routine and familiar faces as you and I settle into our weekly schedules. Hopefully, you draw inspiration from the falling of autumn leaves as time passes (meaning, therefore, memories have been made and friendships formed with time).

Andy Bernard reminds us wisely again that "when you have a fallback plan, it's just easy to give up." So no fallback plans; this is it. To my fellow freshman college students, commit yourself to graduating. And more importantly, commit to loving every moment.

The thing is, it doesn’t have to get worse after high school. The good old days of the teenage years may have ended, but the good times still roll. College doesn’t have to be terrible and stressful; professors don’t have to be unreasonable and inconsiderate. Boys are not all sex-driven partiers, and girls (particularly regarding Southern schools) don’t have to be snobby Lilly-drenched princesses. There’s no need for a fallback plan or the desire to give up because, with the right attitude, college can be an amazing experience. With a good heart, people can blow you away. There is so much to be excited for, so much to work hard towards, so much to believe in.

Part of me wishes I could have known I was in the good old days before I left them; I wish that I had spent more summer days reading books I meant to read because the time for recreational reading appears non-existent thus far in college. I really wish I had taken it to heart when older friends forewarned me that high school is easy and not to take it for granted. I hope that I expressed my love and admiration for high school friends more than I already did because chances to stay in touch seem few and far between.

I have learned, in just a week here at college, that those are simply a different kind of “good old days.” We lead new lives and have embarked on new adventures now.

But this time, we keep in mind that we can always choose to be in the good old days if we just wake up on the right side of the bed— even if there is only one side because your dorm room is just that small.