There's always the connotation with college that is freedom. What this means is, college is supposed to be this magical place (if you go away at least) that no one besides your college friends knows about or experience that you can do anything you want to do, whenever you want to do it, without anyone breathing down your back about it.

For most kids, this is a dream come true, everything they could have wished for. Freedom is something they've never experienced and they can't wait for college to give that to them. For students like me though, it's a little different.

To those who don't party (4 days a week at least), I get you. When you go away to school and everyone is experiencing and taking advantage of their newfound freedom, you feel like the odd one out when you're not partying Thursday through Sunday.

If you're anything like me, you kind of sometimes wish you could be like the people who throw caution to the wind and skip class all the time, but if you're also like me you realize that you could never do that because A) you'd feel guilty about skipping class and B) you'd be too worried about the material you miss.

When you really think about it though, who got the better end of the stick? The "kids just being kids," or the people like us, too concerned about school to be lazy?

The answer is simple: it's us

How is this possible? How is it that those who are stuck in the libraries or in our rooms hours on end are better than those who are just living their life to the fullest and enjoying college? I'd like to fast forward to the future really quick, picture this: you and your significant other sitting, drinking coffee, in a house with kids (if that's what you want) and life is good.

Why? Because now you're eating the cake you so rightfully deserve after grinding through all those years of school.

Go back to present day, often those who throw caution to the wind have no idea what they want to do with their lives. Sure there are always exceptions to any rule, but I believe the key to college is a healthy balance.

Staying in all the time is not good, you need to be social and expand your horizon, step out of your comfort zone a bit while you still can. What isn't good is going out on a Tuesday when you have an 8 a.m. on a Wednesday and you have an exam that day.

Life is all about the decisions you make, thus, you are made up of the decisions you make. You have the ability to be anything you want to be, all you have to do is work for it.

Yes, I understand no one wants to be in school stressing over exams and quizzes, but school is the only way to success. Make smart decisions because in 5 years you may look back and regret going out on that Tuesday because now you're in a grad school you don't like doing something you settled for, don't be that person.