It's only been one year, but one that opened my eyes. I discovered a little more, saw a little more, and experienced a little more. Those small changes completely shifted my perspective, making me wonder about the next 3 years. Year one is officially checked off, but not without some self-reflecting. Here is what I learned, from me to you.

Studying is an actual commitment.

Cramming is something you should leave behind along with the preconceived idea that college academia is like high school. It’s a whole new level—one you have to work your way through. The only way to do this is by studying ahead so when your exam looms over you don't go into fetal position as a defense mechanism. If you don't know how to study, ask for help or find people who know how. Knowing how to study effectively is an obtained skill that comes with trial and error, but once you know how it makes your classes wayyyy less stressful.

Stop visualizing college romance like a Rom-Com.

Your soulmate isn’t going to look at you one day and feel a magnetized force that leads into an epic romance you can post on Facebook or Instagram. Don’t force a relationship to happen, because it doesn’t work. It might set off a flame, but then reality comes in like a bitter breeze and burns it out. Focus on your dreams, goals and aspirations. I promise you the right people will fall into place and eventually so will your special someone.

Contacts will be made…and destroyed.

It’s true when they say you lose touch with your high school friends, sometimes completely. What they don’t tell you is that you may still do this in college. As you go through college, you’ll come across people you once had fun with but barely recognize anymore. I truly believe only a handful of your friends will last you a lifetime, and they are accumulated over your life and not just a small 4-year timeline. Not everyone can make the cut, nor should they.

Money talk is a must: learn how to budget and build awareness of you financial future.

The first real money talk I had was about my FAFSA, a.k.a how students get federal aid on the big price tag marked on colleges. Although it’s easy to give the burden to your parent and look the other way, it’s even harder trying to acclimate with adult expenses you ignored later into your life. Try to start saving as soon as possible, talk to your financial aid adviser and learn how to budget. These were the first steps I took towards my financial independence. You'll start to realize how expensive you were to your parents.

If you’re even slightly interested in an activity or club, do it.

Let me tell you about a time I flirted with the idea of becoming a DJ for my campus radio station. It wasn’t something I was passionately motivated to do, but it was interesting. I ignored this interest for a semester until I shrugged one day and said “why not?” and boy, did I regret putting it off. Disc jockeying is a really super fun side hobby I had no idea I could embrace passionately until I gave it a chance. This can totally happen to you, if you’re willing to try new things and break a little out of your high school shell.

Challenge yourself.

Maybe you’re just taking the humanities class for a Gen Ed., nothing special or in your interest. At this point you’re aiming for average, I mean you’re not going to remember this junk let alone apply it in the future, right? WRONG. The class you’re willing to take just to pass without any drive is damaging more than just you’re GPA, it’s damaging your motivation and personal growth. This mindset is not just going to apply to a class, it’s going to cross over to how you act as an adult. It’s different if you tried hard and earned a C in the class, you really put effort in and good for you. Only partial effort reflects your laziness and lack of consideration to have higher education that some areas in the world would kill for. If that’s not enough, look up the price of each course you take. Get your money's worth!

You’re not “obligated” to stay in a group as you were in high school.

We all know this to be true: high school is a fragile ecosystem with a hierarchical system. Everyone has a status to maintain and they expect you to go with it. In college, this is so stupid. Of course, you still have those who can’t adapt as well on their own so they linger with the system, but overall everyone is doing his or her own thing and just along for the college experience. You have every opportunity to meet people of different backgrounds and different motives. If you don’t like a person or group, you can leave knowing there are others that will make you more happy.