It's come to my attention that some first-years at college might be feeling like they don't fit in. Like they don't belong at the place they've chosen to spend at least the next four years of their life. I can't help but flock to these people like a momma bird.

I know firsthand how miserable life at college can be. You're trying to make friends, get good grades, (maybe) fit in a job, keep yourself healthy and potentially have some fun, too. There's too many things to be thinking about but not enough time to do just that. It can be easy to let your mental health slip. It can be easy to think about how unhappy you are and how everyone else is having a better time than you.

You can't let yourself think like that. Don't feel alone. I spent my freshman year feeling sorry for myself, sitting alone in my dorm room every weekend. College is the time to go out and do. You're in a new place, with new people and new experiences just waiting to happen. There were so many times I stayed in my room, crying and frustrated at myself while I could have been out doing things I enjoy.

My best advice would be to go things that make your heart happy and try not to have regrets. In college, it can be so easy to fall into the routine of doing things because you have to and not because you want to or they make you happy. While you might feel like you don't have the luxury to do "fun" things, that's completely untrue and only hurting yourself. Personally for me, I wouldn't want to be miserable even if it meant I had a perfect 4.0 that gave me no time for doing things I enjoy. Other people might want to do anything for that perfect GPA. That's an area where you need to decide what is most important for you and your college experience.

Make time for you. It might be waking up five minutes earlier so you can let that hot water in the shower run over you just a bit longer. It could be letting yourself get a candy bar or a treat and not feeling guilty about it. Maybe it's making time to show your roommate your favorite movie. Whatever it is, if it's important to you then you better well damn do it.

College only lasts a finite amount of time. Don't waste it away. Get the help you need, take care of yourself and create some memories you'll actually want to remember years down the road.

Start now.