25 Freshman-To-Senior Year Glow-Ups That'll Inspire You To Stay In School

*"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day plays softly in the distance*

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to show us how much they've changed from freshman year to senior year, and we LOOOOOVED the responses we got!!! Now, for your reading pleasure and college ~inspo~, here are some of our absolute faves in no particular order:

1.

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"After four schools, six(?) majors, countless jobs, and tons of life lessons, I went from a blue-haired vegan with way too many expectations to a successful, yet free-spirited, graphic designer (with a much better hair color for my complexion.)" —melaniec4a380c8b5

2.

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"The picture on the left is from my first semester 2013, and the one on the right is me after I graduated and moved to the country I first studied abroad in (and completely fell in love with!) I ended up deciding to design my major so that I could study abroad as much as possible, and now I’m happily working as an English and foreign language teacher... with much better makeup skills." —gretcheno3

3.

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"I started out as an undecided business major with no idea what I wanted to do in my life. Then on a whim, I took an internship in social media marketing and it changed EVERYTHING! I suddenly had ambition, passion, and a reason to continue my degree. The internship taught me so much about myself and what I want to do in life, and it even evolved into a permanent position! If you have the chance to intern, do it. It helped me sort out a future that I could've never foreseen my freshman year." —alixb40fa4db5f

4.

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"I entered college at 16 with horrible dyed red hair and overdrawn eyebrows. Now I’m owning my natural look!" —karlins2

5.

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"I went from wanting to major in bio to majoring in psychology! I'm still short though..." —velizstephanie97

6.

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"I moved 500 miles away to go to school at Auburn, graduated two years early, and I'm almost finished with my second year of law school! My dog, Luna, has helped me through some tough times adjusting to big life changes and I couldn’t have done it without her." —juliab4c9519759

7.

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"It took six years for me to finish college, and in that time, I changed majors, schools, coasts, ended a four-year relationship, and got diagnosed with anxiety. Through it all, I realized how strong I am, both emotionally and physically. I also figured out I wanted to pursue a different career in education: I went in wanting to be an elementary school math teacher and came out wanting to be a visual communications professor! Not to mention I'm pretty happy with my glow-up, too!" —elizar4fbc626f8

8.

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"I went in as a girl and left as a boy who was much happier and had better hair!" —graced43b30d664

9.

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"These photos span over almost TEN YEARS! I started college in 2009 as a biochemistry major who wanted to go to dental school. Eventually in 2013, I graduated with a psychology degree and went on to receive a Master’s in marketing research. Now here I am in 2018 running my own photography business! Oh yeah, and the biggest thing from all of this? I finally gained the confidence to come out!" —rickandrewb

10.

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"It took me four years — and several periods of blonde, red, and a strange brass color — but I finally figured out that I should just stick with my natural hair color." —emmaw4ac51fa26

11.

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"In four years, I learned about teeth whitening and dip brow, and I dyed my hair LITERALLY every color. I finally left the town I grew up in, visited almost every major city in the US on my own dime, and rediscovered my love for the career I took for granted and continually worked my ass off to get back at it. So I guess it's more than just dip brow and teeth whitener." —briahnaw

12.

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"Four years later, and I'm filled with so much more love and confidence. Oh, and better brows!!!" —zozoe2301

13.

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"When I started college, I was self-conscious, anxious, and terrified of what people thought of me. Now, I'm confident because I have a close circle of supportive friends who allow me to be myself!" —michaellab4ee09f45f

14.

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"I've learned to be more forgiving to myself and also, I cut my hair off! It was weighing me down!" —emmac45db7021c

15.

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—ellah488673ca2

16.

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"Not much has changed since freshman year. Just shorter hair and a lot better at makeup!" —laurenm47cbff421

17.

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"My freshman year was marred by mediocre grades, crippling anxiety and depression, really unhealthy habits, and an overwhelming feeling that I wasn't going to achieve ANYTHING. I wanted to drop out or transfer, but for financial reasons, I stayed in the same place. Four years later, I'm coping really well with my mental illnesses and my grades have really improved! I love my program, and I'm happy with where my life is going. College was rough but I'm glad I stuck it out. It really and truly does get better." —athenaa40662f5a3

18.

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"I was diagnosed with anorexia in 2013, but overcame it and went to art school in 2017! Life gets better, folks." —graciee4669d4662

19.

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"I went from being shy with no idea what a contour brush was to a beauty pageant competitor and self-proclaimed makeup addict!" —brittanyb4492c65a0

20.

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"After getting rejected by my first choice school, I ended up going with my second choice: a much bigger school in a much, MUCH bigger city. I was terrible at making friends and spent all my free time locked in my dorm. I fell into depression and my grades suffered because of it, and I ended up losing my scholarship. I took some time off, and when I went back a couple years later, I completely changed my mindset. I returned to school, took a heavy class load so I could get my GPA up, and ended up making the Dean’s List and getting my financial aid reinstated! Five major changes and two degrees later, I’m working for a Fortune 100 company, pursuing my Master’s, and I’m a hell of a lot more self-assured than I was in my freshman year!" —toyanicole22

21.

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"Freshman year, I was wearing layered T-shirts and had homemade bangs. By the end, I was getting married!" —rebeccasjo

22.

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"I finally embraced my curls instead of sticking with the straightened mess I had freshman year!" —maddyw4e5ddcc81

23.

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—calebg40e56ebae

24.

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"In between these two pictures, I left a horrible relationship, traveled, found my calling, met Amy Poehler, and stopped trying to do anything at all with my hair but treat it well." —marleynx

25.

Syd Robinson / BuzzFeed

"Since my freshman year, I failed a couple classes, transferred schools, changed my major like five times, cried (a LOT), learned to cope with my anxiety, and somehow ended up landing my dream internship at BuzzFeed. Now, I'm two months away from graduating and I already signed my contract to work full-time as a Junior Staff Writer! Never lose faith in yourself!!!" —sydrobinson1

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