It's so hard. I know it is.

I know all about the nights that you spend at work when you have homework and papers and studying that you need to do. I understand the frustration you feel when you're exhausted from spreading yourself too thin and all you want to do is take a nap, but you have a shift that you can't get covered. I feel your pain when it seems like all of your friends are going out and having a good time, but you have to close at work that night.

I know that sometimes you want to give up. Working and being a college student is like having two full-time jobs at the same time. It's difficult, and sometimes you wonder if it's all worth it. I know I wonder about that all the time.

Let me tell you a secret: it is so worth it. Even though right now you feel strung out, like you're constantly rushing from place to place and thing to thing, and often mentally drained, it will pay off tenfold in the long run.

As a college student, you learn many things, some from professors and lecture halls, and others are just important life lessons. You usually live on your own for the first time, you're in a new and often overwhelming environment, and you're becoming an adult. Some people can't handle the freedom of college, and they find themselves falling in between the cracks. That's not you, though.

Not only are you handling everything that college entails, but you're also becoming self-sufficient. You're making your own money and learning the value of the dollar; something many people don't understand until they can't handle their finances and end up drowning in credit card debt. You're learning time management skills, which are arguably some of the most important skills you can have. You know what you have to do, when you have to do it, and how you're going to balance everything.

I also want to tell you that it's okay that some nights you have mental breakdowns because you're level of stress is off the charts. It's okay if you don't do as well on an exam as you would've liked, and it's okay if you need to take a sick day to catch up on everything that seems to be building up like a wave of stress and impending deadlines. It's all okay.

You're working hard, and you deserve rest, happiness, and good times spent with your friends.

So, whenever you're feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated, just remember why you're doing what you're doing: because of how much it is going to help you in the future, financially and mentally. When you remember that, then also remember that it's okay to take days for yourself, nights with your friends, and maybe splurging a little on something that will make you happy.

One day, you'll look back on college and think, "How did I ever do all of that?"

You're doing all of this by being strong, independent, and extremely motivated.

You deserve to be proud of yourself for that.