'Go to college,' they said, 'it will be fun,' they said.

Lies! All of it, well most of it, maybe part of it. Specifically the part about tests, group work, projects, exit exams/paper/presentations and above all applying to grad school.

As much as we would like to think that after getting our Bachelor's degree we are set for life, the reality for many is that it no longer is sufficient enough. Now it is almost mandatory to get further education, preferably a doctorate or masters (depending on the career). So there you are approaching your last year in college and you are probably thinking, 'this is it! I'm done with school, things are going to start looking up. I'm going to get a job, make money, pay off my loans, get a house, a car, etc.' Then you start looking ahead at these so called jobs and realize that you are not qualified because they are asking for a master's or doctorate degree. So you realize that you need to seriously start considering graduate school.

All this means is that on top of getting all of your school work done, senior exams/papers/presentations, you also have to work on grad school applications. There is so much stress on college students to be successful, the whole idea of 'if you're paying this much for school you better get a good job and have an amazing life,' but the reality is is that there is no guarantee that you will be successful, not in your undergraduate studies and definitely not when it comes to grad school.

In fact, there is no guarantee that you will even get into graduate school.

You slave away three to four years of your life to get your bachelor's and you do your best to get good grades and have a stellar resume, and even that won't guarantee that you will get into grad school. So what does this result in? Well, it results in students burning out before the age of 22, with no career and a huge debt.

Staring into the abyss that is adult life, with no guarantee is horrifying, especially when considering that the reason you went to college was to have a better life. Yet, there you are staring at the list of schools that offer good graduate programs for your major, and as you start filling out those applications you pray to all the higher powers you believe in to please help you get into at least one of them.

All jokes aside, however, the stress that comes during this time of your academic career is very serious. The anxiety and constant mental and emotional strain that many students undergo is often times ignored by society because it is expected that they could handle it. There is so much riding on being able to graduate and get into a good graduate program, that we as students, often forget to take care of ourselves. We work ourselves down to the last inch of our sanity and with no guarantees of success, and instead of society telling us that we are going to be okay, they ignore the challenges we face.

This is a call for students to give ourselves a break, to say to one another, 'I'm proud of myself for making it this far,' or at least to acknowledge all that we have undergone to reach the level of success that we have at the bachelor's level.

There is so much pressure on college students to achieve greatness, but all we really need is the encouragement and the hope that all the stress and strain we are putting ourselves through is going to be worth it.

So go out and find a college student and give them a hug and tell them that it is all going to be okay.