I know, I know. It sounds completely wrong. You would argue that college is a time to explore, to find yourself, to figure out things you are interested in and people you aren’t interested in. It is about freedom and opportunity and we must take advantage of that.

And all of that is definitely true, but it is also true that we don't need to overwhelm ourselves.

For all of those who know me personally, you might laugh because I try to take part in as much as I can, do as much as I can, and am always ready for more. But doing this every single day is, quite frankly, unrealistic and it shouldn't be something to feel guilty about.

I decided, after a lot of thinking, to not take that extra class I was planning to this quarter and I immediately felt guilty that I wasn’t doing enough.

We all have this image in our head of the ideal college student who is ambitious, successful, and prepared all the timebut it is time to let go of that ridiculous assumption.

College is hard and it takes a lot out of everybody.

It is OK to take time for yourself or hang out with your friends instead of going to a networking event. You aren't disappointing anyone, including yourself.

Saying no to people is an important skill to learn. It isn't the end of the world if you cannot make one class or meeting or lunch date. If you aren't feeling like it, don't do it. College is already overwhelming so don't stress yourself out even more by attempting to do things you don't enjoy.

But all this doesn't mean you shouldn't explore. College is the time to let go of things you aren't interested in and look for things that might actually challenge and motivate you.

Go to that club meeting you aren't sure about or that party you haven't been to. The point is that you shouldn't do anything you aren't interested in, like an easy A class you don't find interesting or a major you aren't comfortable with.

I’m all for exploration but after you make your mind about your interest or lack of interest then you should say yes only if you are happy with your decision.

This extends to that friend of yours you don't want to hang out with at the moment because you feel like spending some time with yourself. This is OK and if they really are your friend, they will understand. Somedays it’s hard to interact with the world and that’s completely fine.

You aren't going to be on top of your game the whole time and it is OK.

Everybody’s college experience is different so just because somebody else seems like they have got their life together shouldn't intimidate you.

Trust me, it’s college. We all don’t know what we are doing. We are just learning along the way.