A year ago, I was sobbing at an airport Starbucks with my parents, dreading the prospect of having to get on a plane and go back to my first year of college.

I was at ease in the security and comfort of being with my parents and did not want to leave that feeling of love to return to a 500-square foot, shoebox of a room where I had a toxic relationship with my roommate and a campus where the group of “friends” I had made in the first weeks of school had been neglecting me.

I felt alone and isolated. For me, this moment of releasing emotions of frustration, confusion, anger, sadness, and loneliness and having a complete meltdown, was the lowest point of my first year of college.

However, by hitting what personally felt like a very low, low, I was able to become cognizant of the fact that I needed to put on a brave face and hit the reset button. I feared stepping out by myself and leaving the people I had tried to make relationships with because they had become my security net. When I looked around me, I saw what appeared to be strong groups of friends who were already settled in together.

To me, by choosing to abandon the security net I had formed for myself, I knew I would be alone and vulnerable and that was what scared me.

I chose to harness the power of being vulnerable by going out and seeking out friends. I knew the people that would be the ones I wanted in my life were not just going to wander up to me. I took what for me was a bold step forward and asked people I was somewhat acquainted with to dinner.

Admittedly, it felt a little like dating, but by making this choice, I soon realized there were other people in similar situations as me.

No one was truly settled in where they were with friendships and people were looking to make new connections with different people.

This experience taught me that in the first months of college most people are guarded. No one wants to admit defeat and say that things aren’t going well. They want to put on the appearance that college is the best time of their lives and living up to how great everyone says it is.

I think internally everyone is telling themselves they are okay, and comfortable, and settled in, when they may not be.

So to that first-year student out there wondering why they feel so alone, I have been there. I do not have any amazing or outlandish stories from my first-year because I was figuring it all out. It's okay to be figuring it all out.

More importantly, you do not have to build the outward appearance that your life is all together. Make the brave step to acknowledge your vulnerability and run with it.

Ask that person who seems to be nice and interesting and like-minded to get coffee or sit next to them in class.

Join a student organization and become really involved. I found myself in a leadership position I wasn’t expecting to get and it has been one of the best things for me because it allowed me to become really engaged in an organization and find my place within it.

Keep trying. Never accept the way things are if you are not happy with them. Find something new to do, take a bold step, find ways to do the things you are most passionate about on campus.

A few weeks ago, I passed that same airport Starbucks where I melted down. At first, I cringed, but then that cringe faded away into a smile. Today I am happy and confident and excited to be on this same campus where I didn’t feel a lot of those things a year ago.

Consciously choosing to step out on my own away from the first initial relationships I made, gave me the possibility to find the new relationships that really mean a lot to me and are ones I invest the time and effort in to build them into stronger ones. I dove into being involved on campus and in doing the things that make me happy, I have also found people who do the same.

This change did not happen overnight. It took months, trial and error is involved in this process and should be embraced. However, the bumps along the way will be ones you do not regret but will come to appreciate.

I hope that if you do take the steps to hit the reset button you will find a place where you are happy, comfortable and loved, without having to put any sort of a guard up.

So may those first-year breakdowns be recognized but rest in peace, and may the new adventures that lie ahead be fun and full of joy and reward for doing something for yourself.