As a junior in college, I have learned some valuable life lessons by now from the time I moved away at eighteen years old. Here are some of the biggest ones.
not everyone will be a lifelong friend and that is okay
I remember when I graduated high school with my best friends, thinking we would all be close forever. This has remained true for some of my friends, but not for the majority. Most of us have moved away from home and gone our separate ways, which naturally drifted us apart. When I came to college, I met a lot of new people in a short amount of time, and I realized that many of the friends I was making turned into casual friendships, where we would hang out together in groups or at gatherings. Over these three years, friends have come and go, but my closest friends have stayed with me. This is something that is completely normal, especially at a big college. Your closest and most true friends will stay with you in every part of life, including high school and college friends- and those are the friendships that you can truly invest in.
there are more important things in life than school
School is important, don’t get me wrong, but stressing over schoolwork and grades is not worth it. I was someone that used to stress SO MUCH over making all A’s and doing well in my classes, and as I have gotten older I have realized how unnecessary this is. Your mental health should always come before school, so make sure you are creating a healthy work-life balance.
you don’t need to have everything figured out
As I have gotten older, I have realized that most young people do not have their lives figured out yet, and that is completely okay. When we are in school we are taught that we graduate high school, go to college, then find a job- but this is not the case for everyone. It is totally normal to take some time while you are young to truly find out what you want to do. After all, why spend money on something if you are unsure?
These are our most fun years- take advantage of them
You will never be this young again! This is the time to go crazy, take risks, and have fun! Try to take advantage of every opportunity while you can, because you might not get the chance again. If a friend asks you to go out with them, why not go? Soon you will be older with more responsibilities and less time for fun. These are the years to live it up!
