As a college student, I imagine we have all been there; life gets crazy, there is too much to do and we completely shut down. Maybe your version of that is watching Netflix or eating way too many potato chips, but my version of shutting down is avoiding all of my responsibilities and crawling into bed. I know it isn't healthy and I need to change, but the thing is, even when I shut down, I'm not necessarily giving up.

It is likely that you have seen the memes or tweets about dropping out of school to be a stripper or to work at a fast food joint for the rest of your life. Even worse, you may have seen posts about marrying for money. Maybe we can agree and laugh, but honestly, it isn't funny.

I think too many college students, including myself, don't pay attention to how fortunate we are to be where we are. Some may be more fortunate than others, but we all have amazing opportunities available to us. We have the chance to make a difference and to grow as individuals. We have the chance to finally discover ourselves and our dreams; we have the ability to find a way to stop chasing them and finally catch them. I can't speak for everyone, but college has been an amazing experience so far when it comes to my personal and professional growth.

Last summer, I worked four jobs and took an online class to make sure I was financially and academically on track to be a full-time student at Purdue University. It sucked, but I made it. Let me rewind.

My senior year of high school I applied to Purdue and impatiently waited to get my answer like so many of peers. Long story short, Purdue didn't really want me. I got deferred. And then I got denied and waitlisted. I was devastated and ready to pack my bags for Oklahoma. Thankfully, my situation ended up being a little different, and I stayed right here in Indiana. There was a program for Indiana ag students called Pathway to Purdue, and I was able to be a part-time student at Purdue while taking a full-time schedule at the local community college. It was not ideal, and there were so many times I hated it, and quite frankly myself, for slacking off in my high school math classes to end up where I was. But guess what? I kept moving and it worked out okay. When I look back now, I realize that my bump in the road was a blessing in disguise.

This is my first semester as a full-time Purdue student, and honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed. The workload is a lot different than what I am used to. I absolutely love finally feeling like a real Boilermaker, but between my 45-minute commute, classes and leadership roles, I am kind of drowning in responsibilities. I want to be brutally honest with you; I suck at taking care of myself. I have started to put so much focus on getting good grades and being an all-star student that I have begun to ignore my mental and physical health. The amount of stress I have put myself under is not healthy, my pile of laundry is out of hand and I keep forgetting to give myself a break so I can go to the co-rec. I am trying so hard to do it all and eventually, I know I will figure out how. But right now, instead of doing it all and taking care of myself, I do it all and then shut down on the weekends. Rather than taking care of myself, rejuvenating my motivation and being productive, I sit around doing nothing on Saturday and Sunday. I hardly take the time to write, read, film videos or just go on a walk with my camera; probably because I think I don't have enough time. My hobbies and passions have started to become an afterthought and a burden, even though I know these passions will help me with my dream career. It is never okay to not let yourself enjoy life; in fact, I strongly believe we should experience life, not just live it.

A lot of people have told me I overcommitted or I'm being unrealistic, but I don't care. I am determined to do it all and do it well, even if I am a lazy person at heart. Again this weekend I was ready to say "screw this" and give up, but today I am moving forward; I've put myself back on track.

The point of me rambling about my college story and life is this: if you keep moving forward, you cannot fail. I have felt overwhelmed, a lot, but then it pays off and something amazing happens. A recruiter contacts me, a club member thanks me for my dedication or I get an awesome grade on a quiz. It may not seem like much, but on my end, it is making my hard work seem worth it.

College is a really strange thing. We are paying a lot of money now to make money later, right? And in my opinion, there are a lot of obligations to uphold while we are here. I have a lot of ambitious dreams, and I am beginning to realize that now is the time for me to begin taking steps to achieve them. We have so many resources at our fingertips; professors, laboratories, libraries, incredibly smart classmates and even things like grants. Our possibilities are truly unlimited right now and while it may seem overwhelming, we can't just give up because we are tired or afraid of failing or would rather blow it off for a stupid party.

I just needed to write this to encourage myself and others to keep moving forward when you feel like you can't or there's no point. Take care of yourself and don't hesitate to conquer all of your goals. Start a blog. Apply for that internship. Do everything you have ever wanted to do. We won't be young forever or always have these incredible resources, so get out there and just get it done. The worst that can happen is someone tells you no or you need an extra long nap at the end of the day. I am not telling you to burn yourself out, but let's stop being lazy or negative about our college responsibilities. Be a go-getter and still have fun while you do it.

We can't give up on our dreams and we definitely can't give up on ourselves. We are here for a reason, I promise. All of our hard work will pay off if we don't give up on college.