Everybody used to tell me that college is nothing like high school and that I wouldn’t be prepared in the slightest bit.  I would never believe them because I was always a well-rounded student in high school.  Unfortunately, first semester didn’t go as I planned, and my parents were very disappointed in me.  This made me feel extremely nervous and anxious at the start of the second semester.  I felt like I needed to accomplish a lot in one semester to satisfy my parents.  I was never the type of person who would think they couldn’t accomplish something, but here I was, one week into second semester telling myself I can’t do this.  The thought of those words coming out of my mouth really scared me.  It took me a little bit of time to realize that I am not a quitter, but as soon as I realized that, my mindset drastically changed.

The most important thing that I learned this semester would be to never give up.  I know it is a basic saying to, “never give up,” but college can make you change the way you think.  When people are scared and hit a low point in life, they tend to give up, like I almost did.  I realized that you always need to keep a positive mindset, even when things seem impossible.  As soon as I changed my mindset, I started to have a different perspective on my first semester.  I realized that I needed to learn from my mistakes and figure out where I went wrong first semester.  All these things helped me finish my second semester off strong.

There will always be obstacles in your life, but you need to remember to stay positive and never give up.  Sometimes in life, the best way to learn is from your own mistakes.  Winston S. Churchill stated, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Everybody needs a little motivation in life, and you need to remember that you are not alone.