A new school, new faces, new friends, new life: College is a gateway of opportunities and success. You can do anything you want and be anyone you want to be. The options are limitless. You can write a book, be in a movie, be an astronaut, anything. Anything you set your mind to can become reality. That’s the beauty of it all.

Yet, freshman year is a challenge nonetheless. You have more responsibilities than ever before. It can be tough handling it all at once. It takes time and effort to get a good grip on everything. Yet, through it all, many lessons are learned freshman year. These lessons are some that will live on with you forever.

I am finally my own person.

With no one to tell me what to do, and where to go, I can finally have the freedom I've been waiting for. With this power, I am finding who I really am and what I want to do with my life.

You don’t have to figure out what you want forever, just right now.

I learned that I don’t have to stress about what career I'll pursue for the rest of my life, but rather I should take classes I enjoy and in the end that will bring me to something I can actually pursue. So, for right now, I'm not thinking into the future; I'm thinking about tomorrow. In a few years if I'm unhappy, it is possible to start again.

You can't depend on anyone but yourself.

I learned that no one but me can get me through college. I make the grades. I create my future. It isn't anyone else's life but my own. No one can sway the direction of my future, but me.

Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.

I learned that it's OK to not go out every weekend. I learned that it's OK to say no to your friends. I learned that I am here for school and my education, not the parties and dinners out. My experience comes from my failures. At the beginning, I always wanted to say yes to these things, and I learned from it. I learned to always put my grades above everything else.

You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.

I learned that calling in on my family every other day is important. I learned that having some time to myself is OK to have after studying for a few hours. I learned to study a few weeks ahead of the big exam so I wouldn't have to cram the night before. Most importantly, I learned to also make time for others rather than just myself. It's possible to get so caught up in what you're doing in college that you forget to call your best friend from high school to see how she is, and to text your mom back telling her you're OK. Time management is important in college, and it's something you need to learn sooner rather than later.

People come and go.

The people that want to be in your life will find a way to stay. I learned that it's impossible to keep someone around if they simply don’t want to be. It's important to realize that and let them go, because better is just right around the corner.

Not everyone is who they seem to be on the surface.

You never know what someone is really going through until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. I learned that people are more fragile than the world seems to think. Someone could be the happiest, most bubbly person on campus, but when they're alone, they could be the saddest. It's important to simply be kind to everyone and try to have a smile on your face even when times are hard.

You won't always get an "A."

I learned that no matter how hard you suck up to a teacher, or how hard you may think you study for a test, that "A" may not come. It's important to not get down on yourself when this happens and just work a little harder next test or project. I also discovered that studying is a skill that must be learned. Once you can figure out how to study, it will be a lot easier.

Utilizing school resources is actually important.

I learned that if I'm not receiving the grade I think I should have, I go to my professor and ask how I can improve it. Your professors don’t have office hours for nothing and tutoring centers aren't there for nothing, and they actually make a huge difference.

Being confident is OK.

There's a difference between being cocky and being confident. But I learned that confidence is a beautiful thing. A person with more confidence than someone else always seems a little happier, a little more successful, and a lot more contagious. Talking to someone who is confident is just relaxing because you know that they are happy with themselves. This is something I strive to emulate so others will feel the same way.

These are just a few of many lessons freshman year has to offer. Freshman year will sway you in many different directions, and it will make you feel a million things all at once. Though, once it is in harmony, you realize what you need to do. You realize these lessons aren't just temporary, but they are real, and they will last a lifetime. Freshman year is a time to grow, a time to learn, and a time to figure things out. It won't always be easy, but it'll be very worth it.