Look at the big picture

Looking ahead to your first fall semester can either be daunting or exciting, depending on how you handle change. As for me, I spent the summer before freshman year ignoring emails from my professors, waiting until the last minute to buy school supplies and changing the subject whenever a relative asked if I was excited for college.

To say the least, I was nervous. Would I get along with my roommates? Would I be able to handle the workload? How am I supposed to find my way around?

My focus was on the negatives, and looking back now, I know that the transition would have been easier if I had just had a little confidence and focused on the positives.

I think anyone would agree that things are never usually what you anticipate them to be, so all you can do is be sure of yourself. After all, it was your decision to go to college in the first place.

Even if you're counting down the days until you pack your bags and start the fall semester, there are probably things that you're not looking forward to. (I can assure you that the stereotypical fears, such as the freshman 15, are not things you should worry about whatsoever.)

It's important to remember that your life is about to change, and in a few years, it'll change again. It's inevitable. Without change, we'd have no room to grow, and no opportunities to meet new people. Four years is actually a short amount of time (think about how quickly high school passed!), so see each day as a chance to do something different.

My mom always tells me to look at the big picture. Rather than focus on tiny aspects, like the fact that you have to share a bathroom, set your sights on why you're really there: to get a degree.

It makes sense to think about it this way, but in the midst of everything you see in movies and every crazy college story your uncle tells you, it's hard to remember that your priority should be preparing for your future career.

That doesn't mean you should sit with your nose in a book for the next four years. Getting involved and making friends will help you de-stress when you have down time, and even that will give you something to put on a resume.

I know people who go to college and have the time of their lives, and I know people who find themselves really homesick when they're away from friends and family. Some even have regrets about the school they chose. It happens, but it can be handled.

For those of you who insist you will never miss home, you're kidding yourself. Whether you think so or not, the person you are has a lot to do with where you're from. College isn't an escape. If anything, it's a way of stepping into the world as a product of your home environment.

Life really is what you make of it, so if you find yourself second-guessing the school you chose, don't. There are opportunities for you to love every school, as long as you give it a chance. Join a club, volunteer, talk to the person who sits next to you in class. Whether a school is big or small, they all advocate involvement.

And if you do find yourself missing home, that's a good thing. It'll make your Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring breaks all the more enjoyable, and you can find contentment, knowing that home will always be there, welcoming your return.

Winnie the Pooh, who has plenty of credibility in my opinion, puts it very plainly: "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."