A blessing or a curse: such is the nature of college acceptance letters. For young people across the world, it is a period of great anxiety and playing the waiting game, hoping to whatever force that you gain access to the institution that called out to you during a brief visit and tour. Envelope sizes and the phrasing of the first line in an email means everything to a student hoping to advance their education.

Rejection means crossing out one school on the list and hoping for the next, while acceptance means adding it to another list to choose from. Tears of joy and tears of sorrow run freely, but in the end, it all comes down to the final decision — what school will you actually be attending? Some are able to boast an elite status at an Ivy League School, while others brandish their own colors and mascots. A fortunate handful can say that they are headed to their dream school, but others aren't so lucky. For the latter, it then becomes a question of how to mull through the next years approaching faster and faster as August turns into September and classes start.

For those that didn't get into a dream school, never had one to begin with, or couldn't go for a separate reason, you have my condolences. For you, I can offer my own words of advice from my own personal experience.

As it stands, I cannot tell you that suddenly everything will be easy, but I can say that you will likely find pockets of happiness that you wanted in any college. Maybe you have a great roommate, or you find a friend you connect with instantly and become great friends with. The program you are in might be better than expected, or you may find a club or organization to be passionate about.

On the other hand, maybe you don't. You might not be best friends with your roommate, or find any people that you feel as comfortable with as you did with your friends from back home and none of the clubs pan out as you'd like. That, too, is alright. Perhaps the school just isn't for you in any sense and you find a way to move on to greener pastures.

Truly, I cannot promise anything for a person who doesn't love the school they are going to or are returning to this year. Instead, I'd say that the biggest advice I could ever offer you would be to give it a chance. It may be hard to keep your head up when you can't seem to find any refuge in college, but this year is a new one bringing with it new classes and new people to meet. From what I've found, everyone in college is trying to make it through just as much as you are, whether they love it or hate it.

Having a bitter taste in your mouth from your first step onto campus, however, will not help the situation. It is something that I am trying to overcome myself, but I do believe that we are stronger than our past. Preserve and push through, because this is not the end of your world. Find what makes you happy, even if it's the small pleasure of watching your favorite Netflix show on Friday nights when the rest of the dorm is silent, and use that as your motivation. If transferring is the only thing that will give you peace of mind, then spend your free time with applications and doing what needs to be done.

Your college may not always seem like a good place when it's not one you are in love with, but you aren't the only one who doesn't love where they are. You have life to look forward to, but try to make it count as much as you can, in whatever way possible.