I’ve always been a strong believer in the principle that people should think before they speak. Sometimes we don’t realize the consequences of the things that we say before we say them. I’m sure that everyone has experienced a time where they said something and seconds later realized that they shouldn’t have said it. I know that I’ve had more than my fair share of those moments. That being said, there are also times where we say something and don’t realize the impact until much later, or maybe ever.

“College is the best four years of your life” is one of those things.

Don’t get me wrong, I love college. You don’t have to spend eight contiguous hours in class. You get to choose classes you actually want to take, live on your own, make new friends, and create brand new memories and experiences. I love my friends at school and the experiences I’ve been able to have that I never would have gotten had I not gone to college. So please don’t think that I do not enjoy my college life just because I am writing this.

College is not the best four years of your life, or I sure hope it’s not, anyway. As much as I love my life right now, I’m only 19. Do I really need everyone telling me that in two years the best years of my life are going to be over? If I am constantly hearing that college is the best four years of my life, what do I have to look forward to? I consider myself a hopeful person. I am pretty sure that my life is going to be pretty awesome post-college graduation (or at least I hope so), but how can that be true if my life peaks in college?

This may seem dramatic or exaggerated to some people, but I guarantee you that it’s not. Your brain doesn’t fully develop until you’re in your mid-20s, meaning you are still an impressionable young person while you’re in college. Even though you may know that something isn’t true, if you hear it enough times you’re going to start to believe it. So I’m calling for a stop to this grossly overused phrase. There are plenty of other things you can say that get the same meaning across. “College is an awesome four years” or “College is one of the best four years of you life.” Not the best, but one of the best.

You may have had an amazing college experience. College may have really been the best four years of your life (I’m sorry if that’s true). Not everyone has the same experience, so let’s stop making teenagers feel like they aren’t going to have a great life if they don’t have the best time in college. College is a place for you to learn and grow; it’s not supposed to be the peak of your life. College is supposed to be the starting block for your adult life, not the highlight of it.

I’m looking forward to many things in what I hope is a very long and happy life. While I do, and will continue to love college, I am also looking forward to the “best years of my life” that have yet to come.