"What college are you going to?" "What are you going to major in?" "Why haven't you started looking at different colleges?" I cannot tell you how many times I've been asked these questions over and over, to the point where I almost want to give up college all together. Okay, not really. But this is our future we're talking about here. OUR future. And yet everyone seems to have the right answer on what that should be. I've wasted countless hours going over numerous college pamphlets and going through college websites and stressing and stressing and stressing and thinking "What if I pick the wrong college?" or "What if I can't afford this?" or "What if I don't get accepted?" and countless other "What-Ifs". And honestly, what is the point?

I think going to college has always been this huge expectation given to us by the world and we are expected to pick the right college and the right major so we can get the right job. But who is to say what is right anymore? College most definitely is not for everyone. You have to want to go and get that education. Not because your parents want you to go or because you'll feel like you'll be a disappointment if you don't go. If every bone in your body is telling you that college isn't for you, then don't go. This is your life, not anybody else's. Your future is not going to be destroyed just because you don't get a degree. Most of the time we get good jobs through working experience, anyway.

However If you're like me and you believe that college is an essential step to getting a good career and you want those extra skills and knowledge to help you get there, then by all means go for it. But don't rip your hair out while trying to figure out where to go and what to study. My biggest fear going into college was thinking I was going to make a mistake and regret not going to a different school. Maybe I would, but maybe I wouldn't. But the bottom line is that our perspective on life and college and work might be different in a few years than it is now.

I was also terrified that I was going to pick a major and hate it and have wasted all this money for something that I no longer wanted to study. Well, guess what? If that happens, it happens. You know how many people think they want to do something for the rest of their life, but then when they start studying it they realize that it isn't for them? According to the University of La Verne, "50%-70% of students change their majors at least once, and most will change majors at least 3 times before they graduate." That is insane! But also kind of comforting. If you're unsure about your major, don't stress. It is completely normal. I started off wanting to study dance, then I changed it to journalism and now I've changed it again to business. You are not alone. And yeah, maybe you might waste some money here and then by changing around, but it's completely worth it. No one wants to be stuck in a career that makes them unhappy.

Another thing to remember is don't pick the college your family wants you to go to. Don't be a lawyer just because that's what your dad is and you want to make him proud. This is your life. I don't think parents should ever expect too much out of their kids. They need to let us make our own mistakes and our own choices. We're at an age where we are becoming independent. Where and what we choose to study needs to be our choice. Our wants and our needs. Not anybody else's.

So, if you feel like you're being pulled in a million different directions because your mom wants you to go to this university or your dad's sister wants you to stay at home and just go to community college, just stop and take a breather for one second. Listen to their judgement and take their opinions into consideration, but please, please, please only go to the college that you want to go to. This is going to be your life for the next four years, not theirs. If they really care about what's best for you, they will support you in any decision you make. And if they don't, somebody will.

So, when it comes that time to start thinking or even re-thinking about college, be smart and be sane about it. Don't get yourself so stressed out that you feel like you can't even think straight. Do your research, visit the campuses, talk to people and weigh your odds. Don't go to the college that you feel will give you the best education or is the cheapest, or you'll have the most fun at, or the one your boyfriend is going to. Go to the college that when you set foot on the campus, you feel at home. Go to the college that you feel comfortable at and that you feel you can succeed at because when it comes down to it, nothing else matters.