Life ain't easy and it might not be fair.

Hallie was the kind of girl whose smile seemed to stretch across every yearbook page. Bright-eyed, full of plans, and riding high on the wave of her high school graduation, she believed college would be the adventure of a lifetime. Everyone told her it would be-the parties, the freedom, the friendships. She packed her things with nervous excitement, hugging her teary mom goodbye at the dorm entrance like she was walking into a dream.

But the dream faded fast.

The college campus was buzzing, sure, but not in the way she expected. The laughter in the halls felt distant. The classes were overwhelming, the people colder, and that feeling of belonging she took for granted in high school was suddenly gone. Hallie wasn't the golden girl here-she was just another face in a sea of strangers. Her roommate barely spoke to her. The clubs she joined felt like cliques in disguise. Even the dining hall felt like a minefield of loneliness.

What was supposed to be the best time of her life quickly became a reality check. Fun? That word now sounded naive. But as Hallie sat in her tiny dorm room, questioning everything, she realized something: maybe college wasn't going to hand her joy on a silver platter. Maybe, for the first time, she'd have to fight for it.