You're a young adult-you want to go out and experience the world before it's too late. No 20 year old wants to hear that they're going to be paying student loans for the rest of their life. But that's what it's come down to. It's all a vicious cycle, really. People go to school for 12 years to receive a high school diploma and then continue schooling for four or more years to receive another piece of paper stating they're "qualified." College is so expensive that I don't even want to think about it. Thinking about paying loans for the rest of my life makes me want to quit it all, but I know that's not feasible. Within the last few weeks of school, I've considered dropping out, throwing myself on the floor and never getting up, and moving away. At the end of the day, I know that in order to be the successful writer I strive to be, I can't quit. Not now. Sometimes I wish it wasn't this hard-not because I can't handle the amount of schoolwork each night, but because I have so many expectations. As a student, I'm expected to get a decent GPA not only to move on to higher classes, but to stay in school in general. I'm expected to put school work before anything else, but still maintain a job that pays enough for my own spending money. On top of this, I'm expected to have a social life, yet I find myself only partaking in activities on the weekend, which causes my weekdays to turn into a stressful spiral of anxiety. And what about me? Sometimes, I just need time to relax, write a little, or read a book. I find myself grasping for this small amount of time each day, and sometimes I don't even achieve it. I've realized that although I need to put aside time for school and my friends, I still need time to just breathe. If I don't give myself that, then I'm going to go insane. At this point in my career, I don't even have time to go crazy. Today helped me see that although it seems like everything is falling apart, nothing can detour my route to success. I've had a broken phone, two flat tires, and bombed my first quiz in a class. Student loans, school work, midterms, and keeping both of my jobs aligned is extremely overwhelming, but I took all of this work on in the first place because I knew I could handle it. And I still can. This morning, I had a meeting with my English professor. He praised my work, claiming that it was very impressive and told me that the key to becoming an author is simply to keep writing every single day, no matter what. I plan on taking these suggestions to heart, because I know he's right. Just because I say something doesn't mean it'll actually get done-that is, until a book is sitting on a shelf in Barnes & Noble with my name on it. No matter what life is throwing at you, you can't let it continuously knock you down. I believe that everyone was put here for a reason, and sitting around without any goals isn't going to help you achieve anything. Plan your next trip-make a list of goals-set a dream and go after it, because waiting for something interesting to happen is not the way to go. Whether you want to be the next best TV producer or simply a great communication manager, you're in charge of your future. ​ 15 years of writing- I think it's about time I finish and solidify a piece of work.