When senior year rolled around and it was time to think about college.

I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to go away and get a change in my daily routine that I was used to for the past four years. The thought of leaving my hometown and being able to gain new friendships and experiences was so exciting. Finding myself along the way was another thing that made me that much more excited to go to college. All of the opportunities that lay ahead of me at my new school, all of the interesting classes, new people, clubs, and other opportunities were calling my name. As soon as I headed off to college though, it turned out not to be what I was expecting and longing for it to be.

I made the decision to go away to a school about an hour and a half away from my home thinking it would be nice to get out of my hometown and go away. It turns out that moving away from home was not as great as I thought it would be. Homesickness hit hard and I ended up feeling really lonely. Since I was going to a small university, opportunities were lacking and experiences were as well.

No matter how hard I tried to reach out and try new things, the whole "college thing" didn't seem to be working out for me. All of my peers seemed to have it all together, they handled their classes, social life, and other personal factors with grace and ease. It was a hard transition to have college level courses, the workload was much heavier than expected. My social life was lacking and I couldn't find my niche. It felt like now matter how hard I tried to make my college experience the best it could be I just kept drowning.

Midway through my miserable fall semester, I decided that I was going to transfer for the following academic year. It was a hard decision to make. I felt strange and lonely in making my decision. This was not how college was supposed to turn out. I was supposed to go to a great four-year university I was going to love all of it and have the time of my life! I wasn't supposed to be this miserable and hate it so much.

It was a difficult decision to transfer but as soon as I made that decision, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. It was hard to realize that freshman year doesn't always work out for everyone. Some people have a hard time with living away from home and transitioning to their new college life. My experience taught me valuable lessons, that you are stronger than you think, and that life doesn't always have to be planned out.

I felt crushed when my freshman year didn't work out as I hoped. It was hard for me to find other people who had a hard time their freshman year like me. I had to take a lot of time to think and reflect on my experience and was finally able to realize that it's okay to not love your freshman year and it's not the end of the world.

If you struggled with your freshman year or if you're currently struggling right now just know that it's okay to not love college and with time everything will work out! Freshman year isn't always going to be the time of your life. You'll have your highs and lows, and hopefully, it will get more enjoyable and happy as time goes on. Just know that if you're struggling in your freshman year you're not alone and it gets better! And hey, at least there are three more years to turn your experience around!