The days have gone by so quickly, and yet, the beginning of the fall semester was dreadful and painfully slow at times. I could not bare to be away from home some days, and cried for so many hours about not having friends or not being good enough. I cannot get those hours back, but I can reflect upon them. I had thought to myself many times, “I wish it could be over already; this is supposed to be the best time of my life and I’m miserable.”

Fortunately, I have been able to overcome these thoughts and feelings.

I was able to do so because I kept myself busy and got involved on and off campus. I found that when I had too much time sitting alone in my dorm, negative thoughts would constantly cloud my mind. As if homework, papers, volleyball, and tutoring on campus were not enough though, I decided to do more because I am not your average human being. I joined clubs, tutored off campus, joined the Odyssey community to write an extra “paper” every single week, joined the school’s play, began doing research to attend an honor’s conference, and began applying for more leadership roles on campus.

I want to stress here that it is important to get involved in at least one extra thing. Sitting in your dorm watching reruns of shows, binge watching new ones, or scrolling through every social media account of yours is not going to help you improve yourself.

I have grown and accomplished so much in one year alone by taking a front seat in life and trying new things. I was hesitant about doing most of the things that I accomplished, but after jumping in, I became comfortable doing them. Try that one new thing and put your all into it. People don't like other people who half-ass their way through life; it is frustrating to deal with. Your future boss certainly will not appreciate it either, so get the experience now and stop complaining that you are bored.

I have taken a lot away from my first year of college. I did so on account of my own vigorous efforts and my parents support as well. I am really all I have though. Nobody else, except for maybe my mom, is going to push me to do things unless I pay them to. I’m a broke college kid though, so that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

I am the driver, the star of the show, the one who will make my life great or not. I rely on nobody and I cannot really expect my peers to care about me because most are so engrossed in themselves and haven’t learned how to empathize with others. That’s Why We Need Social-Emotional Learning. College has changed me immensely already and I hope that others can learn that education is more important than partying so they too can get value out of higher education.