Going to college is a huge milestone in life. You learn so many things about the world, the people around you and yourself. I graduated in May, so lately I’ve been looking back on the last four years and the ways they shaped me.

When you’re going into college you may think, “Oh, cool school. I’ll go here for a few years and come out with a job. All of my dreams will come true and I’ll be super happy and content. I’ll make a lot of friends, and have time to do everything I want." But that’s not necessarily true. Don’t get me wrong, college is so much fun and the statement above may be true for some, but not for all.

But that’s ok, college is for learning and growing, in and out of the classroom.

You learn that not everything is as easy as it seems. For example, a 100-level math class is not as easy as it seems. You think that if it's 100-level and it’s the lowest level so it's the easiest. Nope.

You learn that things don’t always happen the way you plan them. I was and still am very close to my first roommate freshman year. We’ve become so close, which I would never have expected. Especially from all the horror stories I’ve heard about college roommates.

You learn to how to manage your time properly. When you have 6 classes and a bunch of assignments with each, but you also want to hang with friends, relax, join a club, exercise and sleep, you figure out quick that you have to be wise about your time.

From that you may learn what is important to do, or what your priorities are. For example, if you choose to hang out with your friends instead of going to the gym. You may realize you place more importance on friendships.

You learn that sometimes – a lot of the time actually – you have to do things you don’t want to do. For example, you have to do group assignments. Which don’t sound too bad at first, until it's the night before the project is due and you’re the one staying up until 4:00 am to finish it.

You learn that the statement “But first, coffee” is the smartest and truest thing you’ve ever heard. Because there is no way you can get to that 8 am (in my case 9 am, but whatever, that’s still early) class without your venti caramel latte with 4 shots of espresso. I mean you probably could get there without it, you would just be a sassier version of yourself-at least that’s what I would be.

In college, you also learn that you’re not good at everything. In high school, you might have thought that there wasn’t anything that you couldn’t do. Well in college, you learn that there is a WHOLE LOT that you can’t do. For example, I learned pretty quick freshman year that even though I thought I knew a good amount about science and the earth. I DID NOT. I thought my freshman science class would be a breeze, but boy, was I wrong.

I also came into college thinking I would make a lot of friends and it would be great because I thought “Hey, I'm nice and good at making friends and everyone likes me”. Well, I was wrong.

But that’s ok, when I was in high school I needed people to like me and to have a lot of friends (even though I didn’t, it was just something I always thought I needed), but I was wrong. Going to college taught me that I don’t need to please everyone because that’s impossible and you can lose who you are in the process.

It also taught me that can just be by myself, and that’s ok-because even if other people don’t think so, I know I'm cool and fun to be around.

You learn that you will make friends and lose some. Not every friend you have is a lifelong friend. Some just stay in your life for a season. But some will stick, and that’s awesome. You will learn that being in a relationship is not the most important thing. It's not even a necessary thing to enjoy your life. You can have a great life by just surrounding yourself with amazing friends.

And if you end up in a relationship, it's a blessing. In college, you will learn more about yourself. When you’re at a college you are broadening your horizons, meeting new people and learning new things. So, you start to learn what drives you, the things you like and dislike, and who you are.

College also taught me that my viewpoint is not the only one. There are about 7.5 billion people in the world. Which means there are about 7.5 billion viewpoints. Looking back now I feel so naïve to think that my way of thinking was the only one.

I learned how to accept and consider other ways of thinking, even if I don’t agree with them. I learned that you have to rely on something in this life to get you through all the hard times and to be thankful for all of the good times. I know this varies for everyone.

For some, it may be friends and family, or love, or a faith. For me it was all of the above. I realized during college that I can’t do life my own. That I need the support from my friends and family, I need the hope and happiness that love gives me.

And most importantly I need the security and promise that my faith in Jesus Christ gives me. In college, you learn that your dreams and plans for your future don’t always come true. And that sometimes they change into something else that you never thought of.

So, I hope after reading this you can see how awesome and important college is. How it can shape you and teach you so much, if you let it. I hope you have/continue to have an awesome college experience.