Everyone had a vision of what the perfect college experience would be like. 

We would sit in our high school classes daydreaming about new friends, a fresh start, freedom, and endless fun doing whatever college kids pictured in the brochures were doing.

And as graduation came and went, we found ourselves saying goodbye and watching those daydreams come to life in front of our very eyes. Well, kind of. 

While some people became ultra-cool college kids that hang out at music festivals and never miss a football game, the rest of us struggled. 

We struggled to adjust, to not miss high school and to feel like we actually belonged. We mostly wanted to go home.

At the time, it felt like a true tragedy. But, as we overcame that small blip in our college careers, we wondered why we were ever so afraid.

We wished someone would have told us then that it wasn’t wrong to be different. That we would make friends, go places, and learn things, but in ways we didn’t expect. 

So, if you’re a new student experiencing college for the first time, I’ll tell you it’s okay to be homesick. 

It’s okay to go see your parents every weekend until you feel comfortable because college is new and weird and pretty scary. 

You’re going to walk into the wrong classroom, fail tests and miss assignments. You’ll wonder what the heck a Moodle is and if you’re supposed to buy it at the bookstore, and you might even have trouble making friends.

It’s also okay to not go to football games, join a sorority, party with the frat boys or become a part of student government. 

That may be the typical college experience most people want, but it’s not the only kind you can have.  

Take it from someone that transferred from a party school to her hometown university and spends her Saturday nights Netflixing (yes, that’s a verb now) with a few good friends. Sure, it sounds lame to most, but I’m happy and succeeding in good company, and that’s enough for me. 

The truth is, you’ll never get what you’re expecting. As much as we all wish we did, college wouldn’t be half as fun if everything went according to plan. 

You’re bound to make mistakes and question yourself because college was never meant to be easy. Most worthwhile things in life aren’t. 

Sure, it stinks when things don’t go the way you were hoping, but changing is what you’re supposed to do in college. You shouldn’t leave the same person you were when you came here and you won’t.

There’s a strong possibility that maybe the friend you’re looking for is the quiet one that sits behind you in English, rather than the obnoxious guy that frequents Thirsty Thursday. 

And you might be failing tests because your high school study habits aren’t right for college. 

The hardest part of struggling is realizing you have to adapt and actually doing it.  

You might have a tougher start than you bargain for, but don’t give up on yourself or having the ideal college experience. It may not be the one you daydreamt about in high school, but it’s yours and worth experiencing.