There have been times where I laugh so hard until I cry and there have been other times where I would not be able to stop crying. Both of these result from college. Whether it’s the fun you’re having with your friends, or having a mental breakdown from the external and internal stresses in your life. That’s what college really makes you learn. It pushes you past the limits of what you can handle and reaching out from your usual shell. It’s been a year and I’ve learned what I could not gain from the four years of high school.

One, you meet the people that will be in your life for a long time. Some people are just meant to be in your life for a short period of time, only serving their purpose of a standby as life keeps moving on. You may not know what impact they have on you until they leave, leaving you a lesson learned. Sometimes people are in disguise. For one thing, someone who you never thought would stay in your life ends up staying for longer than you expected whereas there may be someone who you presumed would stay in your life for a while who ends up leaving. You end up never being able to tell, no matter how hard you try to foretell the future.

Two, change is always good. There will be times where you feel like you give up. With all the college stress and commitments of working and studying, things begin to get rough. Changing the way you live and lifestyle periodically is healthy for the mind and body. Without change, there would not be a progress in your life, leaving everything the same. With change come difference and another opportunity to live your life the way you want to. You develop and grow as a person rather than staying the same person you have been a year ago. As people go through college, most people say that they have “changed” from first year to the end of fourth year. By change, they mean mature and grow to the person they feel that better suits them.

And finally, you learn more about yourself. From high school, I have always been the type of person who would pause on the questions such as “describe yourself or tell us something about yourself”. What kind of a person am I? Everyone is different, sure, and it’s easy for someone else to tell you what kind of a person you are. However, the thing that matters in the end is what you think of yourself. What lessons have you learned? What do you still think you can improve on? The questions still remain as I go through my college years but keeping those three things on the top of your head makes me more aware and open to whatever comes my way in the future.