I struggled. A lot.

I’m not going to lie and tell you my first semester of college was carefree and perfect (like my Instagram or Snapchat might portray). Not that it wasn’t amazing. I made some of the most unforgettable memories of my life and found out more about myself than I ever thought possible.

But it was hard. Really hard. And for me, it was scary. And let me tell you the scary part about it.

It was the realization of how easy it was to just mess up my entire life. One wrong decision. One night of being careless. One day of thinking sleep was more important than studying. It was the realization that I don’t have mommy and daddy to lean back on anymore. Sure, they still support me and I talk to them every day. But my life… is just that now. My life. And I am in the driver’s seat calling every single shot.

I had some real close calls of completely screwing everything up. Luckily, I have incredible parents that raised my right and made sure I had a good head on my shoulders.

I’m sitting in my bed in my room at home on my first day of winter break. And I’m just sitting here reminiscing.

The most important things I learned my first semester of college (in no particular order):

1. STUDY. You are literally paying thousands and thousands of dollars to go to math class. It’ll be hard having to stay in a couple extra nights when your friends are out partying all night. But I promise you, the minute you get your final grades you won’t have a single regret. After that… then go out and have fun. Work hard, play hard.

2. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE. This is hard. Because it is so easy to get with the wrong group of people. For most of us, it’s the first time we’re out on our own. My best advice here is to actually find people who are maybe a little smarter than you, a little more talented than you, people who are going to push you. If I didn’t do this my first few weeks of college, I would have most definitely fell down the wrong path. These people will be your sanity. They will push you to be the absolute best you are going to be. Pinky promise

3. YOU’RE A COLLEGE STUDENT. ACT LIKE IT. You want to have it all. You want to do it all. I’m not saying you can’t. I’m just saying, be realistic. I went to college thinking I was the shit. About a month later, it hit me. I’m a college student. I can’t go out and have a steak dinner every night. I can’t afford a $5 drink from Starbucks every morning. Sometimes, ramen has got to be the gourmet meal of the week. Just suck it up. You’ll thank yourself later.

4. DON’T BURN BRIDGES. This one is simple. Just be nice to everyone. You don’t have to agree with what everyone says/does. But you can just acknowledge it, and try your hardest to understand it. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. Sooner or later, people will notice your maturity. Don’t trade attention for respect.

5. DO NOT BE JUDGEMENTAL. I’ll be honest, I’ve had my times of being judgemental. You tap on your friend’s shoulder, give each other the look, and laugh. That person you’re laughing at though… they noticed that. They could be your lab partner in your bio class. They could be the president of the club you want to join on campus. Everyone is different. And every single person you meet is going to be able to contribute some piece of knowledge that you didn’t know before. You are not better than anyone else. And the sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is be true to yourself and keep an open mind. I know I probably sound like a broken record. But after a semester of personal experience, the lessons I have learned all on my own have been some of the most important ones I’ve learned my whole life.

Remember who raised who. Wake up every morning with the goal to make your parents proud. And don’t forget that little girl. Never forget that little girl you used to be with all of those really big dreams. Don’t let stupid decisions with temporary people mess with those dreams.

You got this.