I had graduated, I'd gone on a massive shopping spree with my mom, and I was packed. This was what I had spent my entire life looking forward to - the moment when I would finally step onto a college campus and begin semi-adulthood. I had chosen my classes carefully, mapped out my route on the first day, and had found a great roommate. I even had a pepper spray keychain. I was totally ready.

My life had felt like chaos for the past four years, between my parent's divorce, the expected (but no less painful) high school drama, and several knee surgeries. But all of that seemed like it was in the past, and while life was certainly different now, it seemed to be settling into a new normal.

The July before my first year at UNC, my mother, brother, and I moved to Chapel Hill so that she could get her masters degree, and while the free laundry and parking would be nice, I gave my mom specific rules about not randomly showing up on campus, and not embarrassing me in front of (what I was sure I would have) tons of cool new friends.

I definitely wasn't prepared for how hard the transition would be. Maybe because I was overwhelmed, or maybe because my mind and body had just finally had enough of change, but I spent most of the first week at college crying in the bathroom, trying to figure out how I had been so unprepared. I'd created multiple Pinterest boards, for Pete's sake. I struggled being surrounded by people 24/7, I had no clue what the expectations of my professors were, and I definitely didn't know how to handle the constant social pressure to go out every night of the week.

I have no idea how or when it happened, but about a month later, I realized that I was doing OK. All of my suitemates were in my room, all trying to study while really laughing at some inside joke, and I remember sitting back and realizing that there was nowhere else I'd rather be. Nearly all of my preconceived ideas had been dead wrong, but honestly, reality is so much better than I could have imagined.

I can probably count my number of close friends on both hands, but (*pro tip*) it's so much better to have a few loyal friends than to have tons of friends who barely know you. I had lunch with my mom a couple of times a month for all of my first-year, and I can't believe that I ever considered passing up the free food and advice. I don't like going out very often, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a night (or a whole weekend) curled up with cookie dough and romcoms.

I never really learned my lesson about Pinterest. I still create multiple boards for everything, and somehow expect those boards to miraculously prepare me. But hey, I'm still learning.