We have been Pavloved by Hollywood. 

Every time we hear the words “college experience,” images of wild parties, dorm life and whirlwind romances dance around in our minds. Going into my freshman year, I thought my life was supposed to be a mirror image of “Pitch Perfect” and “Legally Blonde.” 

When I figured out I wasn’t going to live that Hollywood college fantasy, I was devastated. I thought I was wasting my youth and missing out on the real “college experience.” I thought I needed to be doing more and being more. Hollywood dangled this Sword of Damocles over my head with the notion that these were the best years of my life. 

So, why didn’t it feel like it? 

My college experience has been anything but a movie. It’s been hard. We come to Texas A&M thinking this has to be the best time of our lives, but the reality is, it will probably be one of the most challenging. It’s mentally, physically and emotionally challenging, but that’s what makes it so rewarding and worthwhile. 

Finally, now, in my final semester, I have accepted that a singular “college experience” doesn’t really exist. It’s different for everyone. 

The number of relationships you’ve had doesn’t matter. The excess of parties you went to doesn’t make you any cooler. The amount of friends you made isn’t important. Popularity isn’t real in college, and there is no such thing as being cool. Don’t get distracted or discouraged by the Hollywood quantifiers. 

The only thing that determines a successful college experience is if you left a better, wiser and more mature person. 

It took me way too long to come to terms with that idea, so, young readers, please take my advice. Your life and your experience does not have to look or be a certain way for it to have been a success. 

I’ve always hated that line of “college is the best time of your life.” 

Don’t get me wrong — college is great. I’ve had a blast these last four years. I’ve found my forever friends, I love being an independent adult, and I love getting to experience life my way. But I always thought since my time here didn’t consist of frat parties, going out on Northgate every weekend and “ring by spring” that it equated to a misuse of my youth. 

I would freak myself out by thinking that I’m squandering the best years of my life. But then, last semester, I got a job. Graduation loomed and I started looking at apartments. I saw what real-world money, independence and life looked like. 

By the way, life post-college is looking freaking amazing. 

I came to the conclusion that my life is never going to peak if I stop choosing to let it. Now, I can stop putting pressure on myself and enjoy the different seasons of life and the opportunities they bring. 

College isn’t the best time of your life, it’s the prologue to it. So, don’t focus on what you have or haven’t accomplished while in college; these years are just the preamble for many more to come. Your youth doesn’t just evaporate the moment you get your diploma. The world doesn’t turn sad and gloomy the moment you leave College Station. 

If I’m being honest, my life gets brighter and more exciting each day closer to walking the stage. 

So why go to college if it’s not like the movies? For an education, obviously, but the most underrated aspect is that it allows for an opportunity for you to figure out what kind of person you are. Through all of the tough decisions and hard times, college gives you the chance to reach your full personal potential.

That is what you need to focus on. Who are you going to be, and what did you have to learn to get there? 

When your time is up and you walk across the graduation stage, if you can answer that question you will have had a successful college experience. 

College is like a snowflake — no experience is the same. That’s what makes it so special. So don’t worry about what other people are doing or not doing, just focus on you. Life isn’t like a movie, and college isn’t like “House Bunny.” You can’t control what happens during your years here, but you can control who you will become after them. 

No matter what your life looked like while at A&M, as long as you found who you are, you have had the ultimate college experience. 

Maddie McMurrough is an agricultural communications and journalism senior and opinion columnist for The Battalion.