A student at the University of North Carolina at Asheville passed away recently. Correction: another student at UNC Ashevillle passed away recently.   Isn't college supposed to be the best time of our lives?   To the credit of the faculty and staff, we're all there to support those who were close to the student in question. But, most of the conversations I've had on the matter seem to cricle back to the same core statement. It's just college.   Everyone's perception of college before they actually get in is that it's easygoing, fun, and full of free time to engage in partying and whatever else you feel like doing. But here's the real story. If you don't get tons of scholarships and no one is paying your way, you work as well. Or, you take out a ton of student loans in order to keep that free time. In a lot of cases, you do both. Then you're trying to keep up with friends, significant others, family members you've moved away from. And amidst all this, failing a test seems like just icing on the cake that is your life now. Bills suddenly exist in full force and you have to figure out what you're going to do when you can't just take out a loan for one semester's worth of bills and groceries.   With all this in mind, it's kind of understandable that students are feeling the burn. Sometimes we can see why the pressure may be too much.   But then, it's just college. And it's not all bad.   Yes, part-time jobs are often awful and feel like timesuckers when there are plenty of other things on the to-do list. Bills are stressful, so are classes. But most of the time we make it out ok. We find our support systems (friends, family, spouses) and we surge ahead into the great unknown together. That, to me, is the key. If you try to take all of that on yourself at once, you're bound to cave at some point. If you have someone to lean on, and to support when he or she needs it, you have a much better chance of not falling into that particular rabbit hole. Above all else, remember: whether it's college or not, it's just college.