I certainly get asked it a lot.

And my response is usually: "Well, it's going," or, "It's good."

Now, I must be crazy, because college is literally the best years of your life. You get to meet lots of new people, take classes you never even knew existed, have experiences you only dreamed of, and did I mention the parties?! College. Is. Amazing.

Or at least that's what everyone told me.

But when you look behind all the glitz and glamour of being accepted to the college of your dreams, and when you move past all those first day jitters of decorating your room, touring your campus, and sitting through motivational seminar after motivational seminar, you start to see all the behind-the-scenes work, like the skipping of meals so you aren't late to class, the late nights you spend awake trying to figure out how you're paying for next semester's books, the tests that you thought you did so well on, and let's not forget the Niagara Falls of homework.

For me, it's a series of ups and downs. Some days I have enough motivation that I want to start a new club or take on five jobs, and other days I don't even want to get out of bed. Sometimes I walk around campus and think about how lucky I am to go to school here. Other times I'd do anything to have one more day in high school. I like my friends here, but I miss my friends that I grew up with. I have some of the best professors here, but they'll never replace some of the teachers I had just last year. I have a great time when I'm here on campus, but nothing makes me happier than to see the sign for the exit for my hometown.

Meanwhile I look around me and I see all these girls (I go to an all-women's college) joining every club under the sun, attending every event on campus, becoming mentors to others, running around the cafeteria giving each other hugs and air-kisses, chasing each other throughout my dorm, having movie nights in the lounge, and here I am, spending a Thursday night sitting on my bed eating some ramen and watching "The Office" after finishing whatever work I had to do.

These last couple weeks, I swore I had made some mistake down the line. Was I just not trying hard enough to "fit in"? Did I choose the right school? Heck, should I even be in college?

But as I was on the verge of tears, I realized (with the help of someone special), that college means something different for everyone. For some girls, college is the next best thing since sliced bread. They couldn't wait for move-in day, the start of the best four years of their life. But for me, I'm actually more excited for my future after college than I am for the years I'll spend being a student. I can't wait to start my dream job and have a family of my own. Plus, it was a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be. If you're like me and you live at college, this has been more than just a change of schools; this is a change in your living situation. You have to feed yourself, do your own laundry, clean your room, apply for jobs, apply for loans, talk to your family occasionally over the phone, find friends, form study groups, go to practices and workouts and games, and register for your next classes.

And you have to do all of this while being a student.

I'm slowly finding out that other students feel the same way, too, and that freshman year is obviously the "adjustment year", so it's normal to feel a little out of place. And if you're a high school student looking at colleges or getting ready to go off to college, I don't mean to scare you! College is an experience that you should value and learn from. But these aren't the things they pump you up with at open houses and orientations. It's not all smiles and giggles. College is schoolwork and adulthood all smashed together.

So don't feel pressured to "fit in" right away. Don't feel like you have to take on every opportunity within the first month or even the first semester. Take your time adjusting. You have at least four years in college, so relax, take some time for yourself, and do what's best for you.