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If there is one thing that college has taught me, it’s that stress shows up faster than the Wi-Fi dropping at the most inopportune time. Literally. When I started college, I was convinced that I needed to have everything planned perfectly – to do lists, five to six different alarms just to make sure that I never missed a class, and a color-coded schedule. I was basically the person who you’d say “tries too hard.”

But let’s be real; college doesn’t care about your perfectly color-coded schedule. It’s a place full of unexpected assignments. One day you’ll wake up with the feeling of having your life together, and the next you’re buried under four group projects, a quiz you didn’t know existed and an email from your professor that starts with “Just a reminder...”, which is never a good sign.

I used to panic every time something did not go as planned. Late assignment? Panic. Group member off the grid? Panic. Taste of Grill food truck not coming in this week? Emotional crisis. For the longest time, I thought that being stressed meant that I was trying my best to be responsible, only to come to the realization that it just meant that my body was exhausted.

During my first year, I was still trying to get used to the workload and a completely new environment. In trying to get used to this different system, I would double check and overthink everything. It was as if my brain was working overtime – doing more than necessary. I thought that if I didn’t have the feeling of stress, even in the slightest, I wasn’t taking my schoolwork seriously enough. It was during my second semester when I came to the realization that a change needed to be made. I couldn’t continue having a constant feeling of stress. So, I made a promise to myself that I would stop overreacting to every little thing and just... go with the flow and follow the saying, “everything happens for a reason.”

Don’t get me wrong; “going with the flow” doesn’t mean to slack off or stop caring. It simply means to start learning how to breathe when things go sideways, and trust me, they will. Like the time when my code was not working and an assignment was due in an hour. I would have cried. But now? I take a deep breath, a five-minute break, and then get back to it. That’s growth.

What I find funny is that once I stopped treating every problem as if it’s the end of the world, everything became easier. I started to laugh in the chaos instead of crying. If I got a bad grade? Work and study harder next time. Showed up to a class that was cancelled? Shows dedication.

I see college as a giant wave – it is unpredictable and tiring, but it is also thrilling and experimentative if we just enjoy it. I have noticed small moments where I would just take a breather and walk across campus when the leaves were changing, or when random conversations can turn into an hour of laughter. Appreciating those little moments is what makes your college experience so special, and those things would just fly by when I was too focused on the negatives.

Also, let’s be honest, nobody really has it together. You look around and believe that everyone else is managing perfectly fine, but, trust me, most people are just as tired and confused as you are. We’re all figuring it out as we go. Once you begin to accept this, you will then learn to stop comparing yourself to others and just start living.

Whenever something stressful happens, ask yourself, “Will this matter in a month?” Ninety-nine percent of the time the answer is no. The one percent? Could be for a midterm. Study for that.

College is messy, unpredictable, and many times tiring, but that’s also what makes it unforgettable and builds us up for the work world. It’s okay to not have everything figured out, because in all honesty, no one does. We’re all just trying to make it through the semester with a great GPA and wonderful opportunities.

So, if you ever find yourself overwhelmed, just remember that it is okay to take a break. Life does not have to be planned perfectly to be worth it, and everything happens for a reason.