College life...and the changes the former has brought

Since beginning this arduous journey called life, I've had my ups and downs, ins and outs, and my share of surprises along the way. One thing I've failed to experience, however, is college. Now that's a very vague sense of the word, because when you think of college, you usually think of classes, parties, Greek life, etc. What one fails to think of is the free time one finds...or you could say that one makes this free time, and the responsibility to decide how to spend said time. College is less of a time of exploration of ones interest as a time where we have to find the adult within ourselves, and it's the ones who can't handle that that end up dropping out. It's not because they're stupid, they just weren't ready for the adult world. I'm sure that you adults out there would kill to be back in an environment where they seemingly baby us, but its the transition, of high school to the real world, that we desperately depend on.

One obvious conflict of interest may involve intimacy and significant others. We're all familiar with the wings of love, and the pangs of loss. One thing that we tend to forget, however, is the triumph one feels after you get past the fact of loss, after we prove our strength and tenacity.

Everyone wants to have fun in college, and fun is to be had...but one can only play when work is finished. And to be truthful, it's a good feeling, having work done before fun...one can really let go and forget about work when it's all finished.

As my freshman year of college comes to a close, I wish I would have been told that deadlines come fast, that a heart shouldn't be given out so quickly, and that wariness is a good quality to have. I had a lot of fun this year, and yet I know it only gets harder, I feel like this experience was a good transition. I've learned I'm not the best of students, but I'm working on that.

I've attained quite a list of books to read and movies to see, and I can't wait for summer to get here. I've never been so excited about a summer, and yet I know next year I'll only have to be more responsible, but I'm confident in my abilities, I want to enjoy this time for myself, I want to work and relax, no school worries, and have the confidence that I'll be moving on to bigger and better things.

I've loved and lost this year. I've dealt with my past, and pondered the future. I've found new interests, and a new me. Overall, this was a good year. And I approve.