As my sophomore year of college slowly comes to a close, I think that this is the perfect time to reflect on two of the best years of my life, where I not only discovered my true passions but also experienced a ton of personal growth in such a short amount of time.

Freshman year was a bit of a challenge for me, especially the first semester. It was a new school, new people and a completely different environment from high school. I went from having to ask permission to go to the bathroom in high school to being allowed to show up to my college classes in PJ’s while chowing down on a full course meal if I so chose. I’ll admit that I was a bit intimidated by what my high school teachers had told me about professors not really caring about you; that they were only there for their paycheck. I was also told that it would be nearly impossible for me to keep up with the insane workload that professors liked to give.

But it wasn’t that hard for me to keep up with the schoolwork. Regardless of the struggles, I busted my booty and that earned me straight A’s my first semester. I also discovered that professors, most of the time, do actually have respect for their students. As a matter of fact, it was my College Writing professor, through his guidance and genuine interest in his students’ well being, that made me realize that I am not only a good writer, but also that it was something that I truly loved to do. Thanks to him, I tacked on a second major in English. With the help of the many friends that I had made, it was easy for me to adjust to the college lifestyle quickly.

I also discovered that science wasn’t my forte freshman year—but I pushed through my grueling Human Biology class since it was a general education requirement. As a result of that, I switched my first major from psychology to journalism, which turned out to be a much better fit for me, especially in the years to come.

I also landed my first ever “big girl” job my freshman year. I started working at Claire’s, one of my favorite stores from my childhood. Piercing ears is certainly a skill I never thought I would acquire in my lifetime.

Sophomore year was way different than freshman year. That was the year that I had decided to stop running away from my responsibilities, start being an adult and take the required math class. After hours spent studying and working on math problems at the tutoring center, I managed to somehow pull an A out of my behind. I had also started writing for the school newspaper that year, as well as Odyssey. I made even more friends by joining these extracurricular activities.

That was when it clicked—I wanted to be a writer for a major newspaper or magazine, and eventually work my way up to editor someday.

But sophomore year was also difficult for me because I had lost many of the friends that I had made freshman year, due to them transferring schools, falling outs or simply because our schedules didn’t coincide and we saw each other less and less. Feeling depressed, anxious and lonely, I started to seek counseling at my school’s Health and Wellness Center. Therapy, and college in general, has helped me realized that people will come and go in my life, and that there is nothing that I can do to stop it. The only thing I can really do is toughen up and not let things bother me so much.

I can now say that I am doing much better than I was before. Although I still have my moments, I am nowhere near as anxious or depressed as I was before. I was feeling so well that I even cut down my therapy sessions from once a week to once every other week. (Side note: therapy is a great tool. It helps you realize things about yourself that you didn’t even know. And with the right therapist, it makes for quite an experience.)

My Intro to Creative Writing class and Media Writing class have been my favorite classes so far. Not only am I learning to become a better writer in general, but I also had great professors that helped me to learn how to strengthen my skills in each area, since the two writing styles differ greatly. My school’s Writing Center has also helped to improve my writing. The tutor I normally work with has said that, in the two years he’s worked with me, my writing has improved and matured—a compliment that I appreciate but am not cocky about, since I know that I still have a lot to learn as a writer.

I know that things will change for me even more in the next month or so. Come September I’ll be a junior in college. And this summer I’ll be interning at a small children’s publication in New York, in the field that I want to go into, which is reporting/writing. I may be running my school’s paper next semester, although that isn’t official yet (cross your fingers!).

In short, college has helped me grow immensely, not only as a writer but as a person as well. It taught me how to be confident, not to care what others think and to do what makes me happy because, at the end of the day, I have to be satisfied with my choices and my true friends are the ones who are going to accept me for me.

But as always, I am also prepared for the unexpected, whatever that may be. Although I don’t think that you can ever be truly ready for any curve balls that may come your way, I think that the best way to deal with them is to welcome them with open arms. Who knows where you'll end up?