The struggles students sometimes face when growing up

Remember the good ole’ days when your only responsibility was to go to school and do chores? You had no homework assignments over the weekend and your school breaks were spent in front of the television. You couldn’t wait to grow up because you thought it meant having the time and money to do what you wanted. Now that you’re older, you know that’s not the case.

Many people find themselves lost when they close a chapter of their lives and are on the verge of starting another. You have your accustomed routines and the idea of “starting over” scares you. Change is unsettling and unpredictable.

Everyone can agree that growing up means gaining freedom, but with that freedom comes responsibility. In high school, the amount of freedom a student had gradually increased as they got closer to ending their high school education. By senior year, most people are driving and working, aside from doing their chores and schoolwork.

Now, you barely get any time off between going to school, work and your personal life. You worry about your health, loved ones, money and grades.

For those that are finishing up their last semester in college, they find themselves worrying about the future and what it may bring.

One of the toughest transitions must be during your college years. You’re treated as an adult the second college begins, yet just a few months ago, you were treated like a child.

In college, many people are completely on their own for the first time. They decide if they want to go to class, what they want to eat for dinner or what time they’ll go to bed. It’s not long before they’re adjusted to their new lifestyle.

Others may spend their college years hoping their graduation day comes sooner than expected, but when the anticipated day arrives, they find themselves reliving their lives as college students.

Of course it’s scary heading out into the “real” world. You’ll no longer spend your time on the campus you explored for four years. You earned your degree, so it’s time to head out and start your career.

Although you spent four years preparing yourself for a career, you can’t help but have doubts. While some people worry if they chose the wrong career or if they will be able to find a job, others may not question their decisions at all.

We’re the ones who create the fear that’s associated with growing up. We trick ourselves into believing we’d have our lives together by the time we graduate from school. Let’s be real, we’ll never completely have our lives together.

Life always throws you off course and there’s nothing you can do about it. Change allows you to better yourself and overcoming challenges are what make you stronger.
Growing up, despite its difficulty, is one of the greatest things that can happen.

As you grow older, you gain knowledge and empathy. You become aware of what’s going on around you and find ways to make things better for yourself and others.

For those who are unsure of what they’ll be doing after graduation, hang in there. You have your entire life to do what you want to do so don’t be afraid to try new things. Success is measured by accomplishments. Accomplishments can be whatever you want them to be. You don’t have to measure your success by the success of others.