College seems to be so many things: scary, exciting and stressful, to name a few. Everyone tells you this. But what people do not tell you is that college is also emotional, enlightening and an adventure worth taking. Sure, there are tons of parties. Going Greek might be at the top of your to-do list, along with decorating your dorm room with a specific color scheme and utilizing your lack of curfew to the fullest extent. Although college may seem like it is just fun and games for now, there is so much more to it.
College is the place for an individual to not only discover his or her interests but choose a path that will begin the rest of his or her life. Sounds scary, right? Though it may seem like a daunting task, choosing your future is not as difficult as it may seem. You do not have to know what you are majoring in within the first month of your freshman year. You do not need to start looking for internships and making connections right away. With time, you will discover what you want to do with your future. Take a variety of classes to expand you knowledge and interests and be as social as you can. Your freshman roommate and the waiter at the part-time job you had may become some of your best friends and biggest influences on your future.
"Friend" is such a general term these days. Friends can be classified as anything from your childhood acquaintance to someone you added on Facebook that you do not even know. In college - especially towards the end - the word "friend" seems to be used less often. Of course, you will make friends in college. But you will also make lifelong relationships; relationships that keep you up at night crying or cause you to skip class just to grab ice cream and talk in the car. The nights I have stayed up talking about anything from politics to dog breeds with my college companions surpass the fraternity parties and shopping sprees I take with my loan money.
Not only will you discover your future and new relationships, but you will discover yourself. Each day you will learn something new about yourself, whether you like it or not. One day you may realize that you love horror movies, and the next day you realize that running for President of the United States does not sound too scary after all. You might be a completely different person on the day you graduate from college than you were the day you graduated from high school.
College has been described as the best, hardest, quickest, most stressful and most emotional time of your life. But the process molds you into the person you were intended to be. If you think college is anything like high school, start preparing yourself now. It will test you and it will push you to your limits, but it will all be so worth it. So soak up these last few months before graduation, because you are in for a crazy ride.
