As my first semester of my junior year is winding down, I find myself in a tough place. Not because I don’t love what I majored in or I didn’t get involved enough or any of those typical college regrets; it’s because now everything is getting very real in my mind. All of a sudden, big life decisions are right around the corner, and that’s a scary realization.

I have heard a lot of jokes about the “quarter-life crisis.” People twice my age wonder what I, as a college student, even have to worry about. They wonder why I could possibly be so stressed. Well, if the schoolwork in college isn’t enough of a concern, college students are also working their butts off to be involved and get internships and make “connections” - the list of things necessary to be successful post-graduation seems endless.

But that’s not even the real problem. The real problem is the insane amount of pressure that is put on someone who just turned 20 or 21. You could be doing everything right and still feel like you’re not going to make it in “the real world.” One minute you’re a happy-go-lucky college student and the next minute the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Once you have that realization that you’re very close to having a real job and adult responsibilities, it’s increasingly difficult to tone down the worries.

It’s hard to focus on the present when your whole future is staring you right in the face. I wish that I knew what the solution was. I wish that I could say I had it all figured out, but the truth is, I don’t. Nobody really does. The best piece of knowledge that has given me comfort is that people change their minds all the time: you don’t necessarily have to have a job in what you majored in. You don’t have to do something that makes you unhappy, even if that’s what you spent four years studying.

I can personally take solace in the fact that I have an incredible support system behind me, and if I fall they will help me get right back up again. Unfortunately, I know that is not the case for a lot of people. As college students, all we can do is try our hardest, do our very best, and hope that these four years of our life -- what are supposed to be the best four years of our life -- pay off.