As the child of immigrants, I was always told from a young age, that I was going to college. Being six years old I did not mind the thought of learning and being in school longer, that’s because as a six-year-old I loved first grade and didn’t know of the difficulties of higher education.

Now as a sophomore at the University of Mary Washington, I am just now realizing that my six-year-old self-had no idea what my parents were talking about when they spoke of “college.” Yes, college can be a great time— new friends, new adventures, and living on your own—but it is much more than that. Unfortunately, it is also long hours of lecture, studying, and focusing on your studies so that you may reach your goals and make dreams come true.

But for some of the use, it also means the stress of choosing a major. If you’re like me, then you grew up knowing exactly what you wanted in life and had the next five years planned out, but once you started taking courses towards your major, you realized that maybe you were wrong all along and what you thought was the career of your dreams, truly wasn’t. Then you spend day and night stressing over what to major in, specifically what courses to take. Sometimes, you might have even felt discouraged because you feared never reaching the finishing line.

Well if you’re like me, then I want to let you in a little secret. Now this is something that took me a while to learn, but once I did, I felt like a new person. I was no longer stressing over the smallest things and I began to smile at the thought of college again. This secret, as cliché as it might sound, is… take life one day at a time! Focus on yourself. Don’t worry about choosing a major. Take time during the day to participate in your favorite hobbies. Take a few courses that fulfill gen ed.’s, yet are a variety from one another. By exposing yourself to different courses and materials, you will realize what you truly enjoy.