A year ago, I was a senior in high school who thought he had it all figured out and was fairly confident life was near perfect. Since then life has been turned upside down.

To say the least, college is a completely different experience from anything we had ever experienced. For the first times in our lives, we’re out on our own, making our own decisions. We’re pursuing careers and fields to help better determine our future. But before any of this can begin, we have to find our place in college. 

Finding your niche in academics is, in my opinion, the most important of coming to a college or university. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 20.2 million are to attend college fall of 2015. Of those students, an estimated 3,950,400 are expected to graduate with a degree by the fall 2016.

Finding your place academically is a must and there are plenty of ways to achieve that. Professors and instructors want you to succeed, so talking to them about ways to succeed is key. Tutors, supplementary instruction and learning communities are also a great way to really take control of your own education adventure.

And although this many not depict the ideological view of college, achieving the life you want after college does – in most cases – require a college education which makes the process worthwhile. In most cases, its in this hard work and dedication to academia that will help you answer that ominous question: what will you do with the rest of your life?

Personally, I don’t know where I’m going to be in ten years. I’ve thrown around a number of different careers and ideas, but I haven’t set my mind to one yet. But that’s the best part about college, you don’t have to know right away.

A lot of people will stress that you have to know what you want to do with your life before you even get to college. However, even if you have an idea of what you want to do before hand, college will most likely change your mind based on the experiences you have there. You have time to figure it out, explore your options, and find out who you are.

College is a whole different ball game, it’s like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. You can come into college with your life mapped out, there isn’t anything wrong with that. On the other hand, you could find a passion for something you knew nothing about before you got to college and create a career out of that. It’s entirely up to you. College is probably the one true blank slate life will ever hand you; taking advantage of it is vital.

According to a study by Colorado State University, on average about 37% of undergraduates change their major at least once. It’s not uncommon to change your mind and change your major, you have time to figure out who you are and where you belong in all the big aspects of college life.