Well, I'm almost there. I'm almost done my freshman year of college. When they tell you that the semesters fly by quickly, they're not lying. Each semester went by in a blink of an eye.

The first semester was a difficult transition at first, but as soon as I got in the groove of things and made some new friends, I was okay. I might not have done as well as I hoped to with budgeting my time for studying because I was sick a lot and just plain out making bad decisions.

I also learned some lessons. I learned to stop putting energy into friendships when the other side only put in 20 percent. I learned to be my own person, away from those friends from home. Overall, I had a good first semester.

By the end of the first semester, due to being sick and unhappy on campus, I decided to commute the next semester.

For the spring semester, I commuted and got a job at a shoe store. I met a lot of great people working there and I never felt so at home at a job. My boss is so chill and I tell her about my life and joke around with her constantly. All my other managers and coworkers are super nice and fun to work with, too. There's never a day at that job when I don't goof off and laugh.

For once, I can actually say that I love where I work.

With commuting, I can have the best of both worlds: hanging out with friends at home and with friends at school. I slept over my best friend's dorm almost every weekend and chilled there in between my classes. To be honest, I was scared that we wouldn't be as close this semester, but we're even closer.

Even though I loved being on campus last semester, commuting was a good decision for me. This year went by so quickly, it's honestly crazy. I learned a lot of lessons that I'll take with me for the next three years.

I've grown a lot over the course of this year and I'm so excited to grow more.