College students are often thought to have it better than high school students. They are able to wake up later than 7 a.m. and have the freedom of not living with their parents. Not only do they get to live the life of freedom, they have all the responsibilities of an adult and then some. Not-so-fun fact: college students, no matter their attendance in university, are more likely to be forced into some kind of sexual harassment or assault.

As a high school-aged girl with a part-time job, I am no stranger to sexual harassment. I have had my fair share of creepy coworkers and offsetting customers, but it really came into perspective for me after my 18th birthday when someone asked my age in a suggestive way. “I’m seventeen.” I lied. And then I had a moment of revelation. I wasn’t 17 but something about being a minor made me feel like sexual assault was farther away from me. The reality is that I am 18 years old and attending college in the fall.

The college hunt is not an easy one for anybody, especially when taking into account the area and what kind of reputation the school has. In my search, I thought I wanted a school far from home, and then I decided I didn’t want to be 10 hours away from my family. It came between this school far away and a “party” school. In the end, I chose the one that was considered a “party” school. This school happened to have a better program and a better placement rate after college was over. If anything did happen, I decided that I want to be in driving distance of a family member.

Of course, the fear of something devastating happening isn’t the only thing on my mind. I’m excited to meet my suitemates and room with a current friend. I’m excited to be studying for something more than a good GPA. It’s amazing what one fear and a couple of stories can do to your thought process. I now have a plan for every time I will leave my dorm at night, and a plan for when I do go to a party or someone’s dorm/apartment that I am not familiar with. I have reminders everywhere I go about not leaving my drink unattended, and keeping my friends close to me when we go out.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 11.2% of male and female students will experience some kind of rape or sexual assault in their grad or undergrad career. As for just undergrad, 23.1% of females will go through rape or sexual assault through force (rain.org). This doesn’t mean I throw away my dreams of going away and being a college student, it’s just invokes a little bit more thought on going out and deciding who to trust.