What First Year Really Taught Me
Looking back, my first year was nothing like the simple story I had imagined before joining college.
I had expected good things.
I got them.
But they didn't always come in the form I expected.
I found friendship.
I found love.
I experienced heartbreak.
I struggled academically.
I discovered new interests.
I learned new skills.
I met people who opened my mind to different possibilities.
Most importantly, I began discovering myself.
My biggest mistake was thinking that something good would simply happen because I had arrived at college.
I thought the new environment itself would create the life I wanted.
But life doesn't work that way.
A new place can give you opportunities.
It can introduce you to people.
It can expose you to new ideas.
But you still have to decide what you will do with those opportunities.
I learned that I couldn't build my entire identity around another person.
I learned that relationships can be meaningful without becoming the whole of your life.
I learned that heartbreak can take something from you,...