Downsides of Univesity

I like to describe myself as a very steady person. My parents were always proud of me at school, even if they didn't say it much, I had everything organized, I liked to be prepared even for the tiniest thing in life. 

But one thing I wasn't prepare for is living on my own at university. I was unused to the amount of solitude I had to endure each day, it took me by surprise, I didn't have a clue how to manage it. It was then when I stared locking myself, in my room, avoiding any sort of social interaction. I spent days without actually talking, without a single word coming out of my mouth. I found myself staring at the walls and crying myself to sleep. I used to count before I could fall asleep, 1, 2, 3.....I even reached 200 sometimes. I was so excited and optimistic about living alone, growing up, making new friends that are more likely to stuck with me for a life time, but it was hell. It was the time for every freshly graduated kid to shine, and I wasn't shining, my life became gloomier the more I saw how blooming and delightful the other kids were. 

And I was thinking to myself, how am I supposed to carry on for more than 5 years in here? Should I go out more? I even googled "how to make friends" and binged watch "life-coaches" videos on how to be more social. 
During my school years, I was never the weirdo, I was rather the popular kid, a bit nerdy, true, but making friends wasn't a worry of mine. How can solitude turn me into the opposite of who I used to be just one year ago? 

This is just a brief story with a strong message: mental health is crucial when it comes to college students, the amount of stress they are facing every day and the new abrupt life style they are experiencing is hard enough to make them go into a spiral of dark thoughts. 

My experience made me more aware of myself as an emotional creature, I became aware of how a healthy mind will bring a healthy life in all its aspects, and definitely, it's surely fine not to feel fine sometimes, the sadness is here to be embraced and dealt with, no ignored and neglected. 
Stay strong new college kids!