During a person’s first year at college, they learn a lot of things. They learn how to be independent, how to time manage, how to do their laundry, things like that. It's a time of transition and transformation. This first year is so new and exciting. We get more freedom than ever before and were allowed to explore the world and see what is out there for ourselves. It is a pivotal year in our lives.

For me, this year brought a lot with it. Excitement, knowledge, fun, new and exciting things, learning more about myself than ever before and change. Change is the most important thing that happened to me. People are changing all the time and often times get accused of changing for the worse. I know that the changes that occurred for me this year were for the better. Pre-college me was afraid to put myself out there. Now, I'm not afraid to break away from my comfort zone, meet new people, and try new things on a daily basis. Pre-college me sat at home on the weekends waiting for something exciting to come along. Now, I go out, and make things happen and exciting. Maybe, I should even be staying in more than I do now, but college isn’t for sitting around.

Most importantly, pre-college me kept quiet about how I felt. If I was upset, I would tell myself "move on, it’s not even a big deal”. I would brush whatever came along under the rug and pretended everything was fine, even if it wasn't. Honestly, I think that this was me, even well into college. It wasn't only until recently that I realized the importance of speaking your mind. Me not saying how I felt in the past got me no where. It left me confused and lead to assumptions and unreasonable expectations. At one point, it even left me heartbroken. I now realize that this is no way to be. Saying how you feel can be scary, if anyone knows that it's me. Saying how you feel can even hurt, but you know what? You'll be okay. It is worth taking the risk because, although you may not always get the answers you're looking for, you're not left at the end of the day thinking that you wish you said something when you had the chance or always wondering what could have been. I now realize how important this concept is.

So, let yourself change and learn. It may be scary, but that's life. Change is good and change is necessary. College has definitely helped me learn, and I think a big part of that came from going away to school and having to learn about who I am when I put myself in a new place with new people. I can honestly say that college and the changes it brought me are the best things to ever happen to me. It has made me stronger and it has given me a voice and made me into a better person. As my freshmen year comes to an end, I look back on it all and think of how far I've come. I can't wait to see where he next 3 years takes me and how I will continue to evolve.