College is an interesting, expensive time of self-discovery. You want to be independent, you're a legal adult! Which means you should be treated like one. If you're lucky enough to have your mother and father in the picture, then you should be helping them. Yes, you read that correctly.

A year ago, I saw a girl screaming into the phone that she needed Diamond Dollars and that struck a nerve in me. It's okay to ask your parents for help, but to outwardly scream at them and guilt them into giving you spending money, is wrong on so many levels.

"I don't have time for a job" is no excuse. To me, that translates to "I have poor time management." You don't have class on the weekends, meaning you have plenty of hours you could be working over the weekend. Yes, it sucks to miss Thirsty Thursday, but you were the person who chose to live away at school. Once you are over eighteen, your parents are no longer financially obligated to you.

Everyone thinks that they're above living in a dorm (I felt that way, I will admit). Having an apartment is great, but can YOU pay for it is the question? Before you sign the lease, have you thought about utilities? Groceries? What about furniture? It's a big expense, and maybe you can't do it on your own. If your parents are helping you, then you should be giving them whatever you can. Before you budget money for alcohol and takeout, think about your parents.

The college mantra seems to be, "living my best life." The meaning of that is so skewed. Living your best life should not consist of blacking out, putting yourself in crazy amounts of debt, and not graduating on time purely because you failed a bunch of classes because you chose your social life over your school work.

Go out, have fun, enjoy, but school and work should come first.

One can easily say, "I worked so hard for my money, why can't I do what I want?" You can, after your rent is paid. It's hard, I can't tell you it isn't, but imagine how hard it was on your parents for the past eighteen years. As young adults, we're selfish. We think about what we want, not about how we can effectively get it. Getting what you want will always involve sacrifices, and those sacrifices must be YOUR sacrifices, not your parents.

High school may not have been the best four years of your life, but college should be for different reasons. You should be proud of yourself, working your hardest and thanking the people who got you there. If you're fortunate enough to have your parents in your life, thank them. Thank them and give back as much as you can.