I think I should start off by saying you ACTUALLY survived your first semester of college. You’re still breathing (barely), you didn’t jump off a cliff or lose your mind completely. You finished your first semester.

It was what seemed to be the fastest semester of your life even though during it, you felt like you were dying and you could not see the end of it. You had several breakdowns but what doesn’t kill you... well it doesn’t kill ya.

You thought college was going to be different. You thought you would go out and have fun and also balance school and getting good grades.

Let me tell you, that’s not what ended up happening.

You decided to stay in most weekends and you found a love for spending time with yourself. You found out that you actually LOVE coffee and learned to appreciate Chipotle every time you were blessed with the opportunity of having it. You learned that not every action needs a reaction but you shouldn’t ignore big problems because they will just get worse.

You learned that it’s not always true when people say you’ll miss home and you shouldn’t guilt yourself about it.

You did a “rebel” thing and got your nose pierced but mainly confronted your fear of needles (even though you’re still scared). You stopped looking and happened to stumble upon a guy who makes you giggle like crazy and smile nonstop. You made some new friends and you were also able to maintain your friendships from back home.

You learned that your mental health is extremely important. You can’t put your brain on overdrive and expect it to be okay. You shouldn’t go about your life refusing to seek help and you should try to accept that some things you can’t do alone.

You’ve come to understand that college will probably not be the "best 4 years of your life" just like high school wasn’t, and that’s OK.

Why? Because everyone experiences life differently, everyone has different goals, and everyone will live their best years differently.

You figured out that no matter how much you plan your life, it will not go to plan. Life isn’t about the plan, but the goals. Life is about the journey and the paths you decide to take to fulfill it.

Congrats on surviving and here’s to surviving more years!