Coming to college and meeting so many new people was one of the most exciting times of my life. A season of such transition can be scary and unnerving, but I tried to make the most of it and embrace all the loops that I was thrown for.

While those first few months were new and thrilling, they were also very challenging. I did meet some of the most amazing people, but I also met some of the most difficult people who forced me to learn some lessons the hard way. Taking the high road, being the bigger person, is a very difficult thing to do, but always worth doing.

Always, always take the high road is when dealing with a challenging person. It's really not my first choice of reactions sometimes and I just want to stoop to their level to give them a taste of their own medicine. It's so ingrained in me to "rise above" (if you know me at all, you know those are two of my mom's favorite words), that I don't know if I actually can do that, as much as I want to occasionally. Handling precarious situations with someone who just isn't getting it can best be solved by just rising above the situation (and the person).

My girl Michelle Obama said it best: When they go low, we go high. When that person continues to act with immaturity and out of spite, take the high road- it's worth it every time.

Another situation that is a little more difficult to talk about is when you are wrong. Personally, I don't love to admit that I didn't get something right. I know I am far from perfect and I don't try to pretend that I am, but I don't like advertising that I might've messed up. Taking the high road is doing just that- owning your faults and not running away from them. Everyone's life isn't as perfect as their Instagram makes it seem; they mess up, too. We can get so entrenched in wanting to be the ideal student, girlfriend, or brother that we can't handle our faults with grace. That grace starts with admitting that you're not always on your A-game, that you do make mistakes. The next time you mess up, rise above the situation and admit it, then move on… and thank me later.

I'm grateful for the people who, in one way or another, make me take the high road. Whether that be my mom or my best friend encouraging me to "rise above" and never stoop, or those people who really challenge me and give me the opportunity to be the bigger person. I'm thankful for the times where I have to confront my faults and begin the process of dealing with them by admitting that they're real, by taking the high road.

Taking the high road, being the bigger person, rising above- all one in the same, all very hard to do, but all very worth it.