Ernest Hemingway once said, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”

My dad actually gave me this quote the other day after I called him crying on the phone because I was so overwhelmed. He told me to relax, which is way easier said than done, but then he gave me some valuable life advice and with it I learned a lesson so simplistic, yet it took me almost three years of classes, events, work, extracurricular activities and a crying phone call to my dad, to teach me.

I know that when I tell you, you might laugh at how slow it took me to stumble upon this bit of advice, but I assure you, your mind will still be blown. So here it is:

College is hard.

And for those of you who are not in college, here is a more relatable one:

Life is hard.

And it sucks sometimes.

Lesson plans.

Tests. Projects.

Sorority/fraternity events.

Student government duties.

Eating. Showering.

(not to mention if you have a significant other too!)

Everything adds up and our thoughts become one big blob and we can’t differentiate what’s important from what’s not.

So as I continued to cry, I then told my dad I was dropping out of school and naturally told him my backup plan of becoming a stripper (something you always want to hear from your sorority’s scholarship chair right?).

I was awakened by a harsh reality though when he told me that I should start practicing on the side of the streets, and even that requires a license.

AKA, time and money.

Life is hard. But why?

I actually don’t know the answer to this question,

BUT, I do know that before things can get better, they get worst.

Life. College. None of it is easy.

It’s all a balancing act that requires time, strength and dedication. But the cool part is, is that we gradually learn all of this.

None of the great lessons we learn in life are innate or else that would make things way too easy.

We mess up, we break down in tears, we curse, we stumble and we are constantly learning about ourselves.

It has been through all of my mistakes and failures that I have learned more about the type of person I am, and who I strive to be. And even when I think everything in life is all fine and dandy and I have learned everything I needed to, life throws a curve ball that almost strikes me out of my own game.

But, the main point of this whole spiel is that I don’t let it.

I keep going because life is too short to stay stuck in the moments of “what if” and self-deprecating thoughts.

College is hard, but it’s also great.

You just have to remember that things get harder before they can get easier.

Take each day one moment at a time.

Cherish the time you have with the people around you.

And don’t stress so much about the ways of tomorrow because life always has a funny way of working itself out.

My last bit of advice to you all: relax, because life is valuable and we tend to take each day for granted.