The fear and anxiety I faced leading up to my departure for college are truly something I would never wish upon another person. I psyched myself out to the point of constant tears (something very out of character for me), hibernation and moments of actually feeling sick. I had constant “what ifs” running through my head. Regardless of what people told me -- whether it was my mom, my sister who is now a junior in college, or just my friends who were getting ready to leave -- I couldn’t hear the “it’ll all be okay.”

Looking back, as I wrap up the fall semester of my freshman year, I can honestly say I wasted my time and energy worrying about college. It has been great. There have been struggles, but there were struggles in high school, too. My great experience at college has motivated me to help high school seniors, or even juniors, gearing up to leave home for the first time, to spread their wings and fly. Here are the five things pre-college students can say to themselves at night when their head hits the pillow and their fears dance overhead:

1.Your parents will be OK.

I was convinced that my parents wouldn’t be OKJ. As the baby of the family, I felt guilty leaving them. My siblings and I have totally consumed my parents lives for the past three decades and I thought they enjoyed coming to my games, cooking me dinner, hosting my friends. And they did. But now they are traveling together, cooking meals together, hanging out with people they never had time for while we were around. They miss us all terribly, don’t be mistaken, but they are also continuing to live each and every day. Plus, a day doesn’t go by without two or three phone calls.

2. You are still a kid.

Something about leaving home and turning 18, you feel like your beloved childhood is coming to an end. It’s not. College is kid city. You are having so much fun and barely have responsibilities. Yes, you still go to class, but you’ve been doing that since you were five. Yes, you have to do your own laundry, but that takes 10 minutes and for me, it’s a stress reliever. Appreciate this time. Your parents are still supporting you emotionally and financially, but you’re also becoming independent. I always thought that I was too dependent on my mom and that I would crash and burn once I got to school. I actually did the opposite, and you will realize that you are more than capable of doing that too. College is a time when it seems like you are being dropped into adulthood, but you’re not. It’s a transitional time to develop adult-like skills while also having the fun of a kid.

3. You will make friends.

You will. I promise. You will find people the first day whom you think will be your best friend forever, and they may be, but if it doesn’t work out that way, there is a never-ending cascade of new people to meet. Whether you are at a 1,000-student college or a 60,000-student university, you will find someone, and maybe a whole posse of new people. It changes as the semester goes on. You meet people in classes, organizations or clubs. It’s also a good thing to have many friends to see socially, to study with from different majors or just to talk with to get different perspectives. It’s scary and it’s hard, but if you come into the semester being truthful to yourself, people will get you. Never lose self-identity in the process. Also, be sure to keep an open mind. The people you hang out with may not be as near and dear to your heart as your best friends since first grade, but that bond took 12 years to form. Everyone is in the same boat so just be positive, relaxed and be you.

4. Your friendships from home may be stronger than you think.

You may think that you cannot survive without your friends from home, but you can. There are moments when you miss the quirky friend, the sarcastic one or the one who has the power to hug you and release all your worries, but those are only moments. Your group chat may slow down, and that is normal. Honestly, if they didn’t slow down they’d get annoying. You need to let each other breathe, grow, experience and then come home for break or catch up on the phone every few days (or even weeks). Your stories seem more interesting and your love for each other grows fonder. And for the ones you find you don’t want to talk to anymore, that is okay, too. It happens. Don’t worry if you don’t text every second of every day, because as soon as you’re back together again, it feels as if nothing has changed at all.

5. The work is doable.

There are moments when you want to cry. You think you will flunk out. But one. Crying is a good thing and two. You won’t flunk out. The schoolwork is a lot more than what you’re used to, but it’s doable. You really engage with what you’re learning in college, something I didn’t seem to do in high school. You pick what you want to learn about and if you like what you picked, you will generally like the work you’re assigned. Some classes will be harder than others, but grades do not define you. Hard teachers also aren’t necessarily bad teachers. You want to get everything out of a course, considering you are paying for it, so taking all “joke” classes makes the joke on you. Bottom line is, like what you’re learning, and the course work is time and effort well spent. Also, unlike high school, you are only in class a few hours a day, so having work to do keeps you busy. If you are bored, you can get homesick.

Something that really helped me get through the first 48 hours was reminding myself that moments are moments. They are temporary. I actually reminded myself this all semester. Good and bad, they come and go. When you’re lying in your bed, wishing you were back in senior year with everything that makes you comfortable, remember not to wish the next four years completely away. At the end of your college career, you will then wish you could do it again, just like you did at the end of high school. Appreciate every moment that hurtles your way whether it’s a good or bad one. Learn and grow. Also, remember that homesickness is generally looking for the last place you felt comfort, so maybe that’s why you long for your parents or your bed. You were comfortable there. You can be comfortable in the here and now. My dad always used to say, “Take three deep breaths.” That was pretty futile. But the person who figured out grade school, middle school and high school can figure out the world.