Do you know what I really hate? People who are always saying, "If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't do it any differently". It's obvious that we all make mistakes, and that most situations are not perfect. These situations could have gone a little better if something had happened differently, so why must everyone preach about how they love their mistakes?

Although I do believe that mistakes can teach you lessons and make you a better person in the end, I would still do tons of things differently if given the opportunity. With that being said, here are a few things that I wish I knew in college.

1. Grades don't matter that much. While it's important that you pass each of your classes so you can get the credits for graduation, the grades themselves don't matter as much as you would think. I spent so many nights reading textbooks only to never use that material- even on quizzes and class projects. Sometimes you may need a certain GPA to keep a scholarship or something, but otherwise getting A's in every course isn't necessary. You future employer isn't going to ask for a transcript of your freshman year philosophy course, they want to see your internship and job experience.

2. Long distance doesn't always work out. I spent over half of my college years in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend from back home. I listened to everyone when they said it wouldn't work, and was fairly surprised when it ended up crumbling. Not every long-distance relationship will fail in college- I have friends whose relationship lasted all four years - but it's important to just be realistic about it. When people are far apart from one another, things change. They grow up, they meet other people, they decide to cheat you with said other people… but life goes on.

3. You're going to be poor after graduation. Although I was well aware how much money my family and I had to borrow to pay for my education, I guess the large amount didn't really hit me until the loan payments started coming in. I wish I knew that I wouldn't get my dream job out of college and would barely be making enough to cover my expenses. It's important for kids in college to work (I worked a part-time job at school and back home during my 4 years) some sort of job and try to get a stipend for internships. Every amount you can save helps in the end!