Fear is a cardinal instinct we experience every day, from the stress of asking someone on a date to the anxiety of graduating and having to survive on our own. I recently tried to make a list of the things I fear most. I swallowed self-conceptions about laughing in the face of danger and begrudgingly spit out everything I could think of.  I’m sure the list has some revelations that a lot of college students struggle to face.

First and foremost is the fear of rejection. The collegiate environment is designed to encourage and nurture new experiences, like meeting new people and experimenting with new courses, clubs and organizations. So why, with all this encouragement, does it feel so unnerving to take a risk? The weight we place on the word “no” causes us to internally exaggerate how one experiences or comes to define an event as intimidating. But that “no” might lead to something else even more exciting — it might force us to explore alternative prospects, or give us the opportunity to participate in something we otherwise thought impossible.

We also experience a nagging trepidation when it comes to exams. Emotions run high as we entertain thoughts that center on the prospect of failure, “I’ll ruin my GPA,” “I’ll disappoint my parents,” or “I’ll risk my place on the team.” These types of thoughts are most often disempowering . The trick is to harness this anxiety and turn thoughts of how you might fail an exam into thoughts of how you might pass it. Just as easily as that fear can lead you down the path of panic, or it can help you focus on the formula for success: preparing, learning, studying and asking questions.

And, of course, there’s the one looming event that every college student dreads, the veritable culmination of all of our fears: graduation. Where will we go? Who will hire us? Why didn’t we work harder our freshman year? Seriously, who will hire us? Eventually we all have to grow up and leave the seemingly utopian society of college.

Knowledge is the key, and that is why we’re at N.C . State in the first place. It’s clear that the university understands, and not only from an academic perspective but, job fairs and on-campus activities demonstrated that NCSU is doing its best to stamp out ignorance and quell fears in the area of post-graduate affairs.

We all have fears, both unique and shared with the entire student body. The understood existence of these common fears, however, can bring a sense of belonging and comfort as we realize we are not alone in our insecurities. We also have the choice to acknowledge fear as a call to action, a chance to focus forward while still being grounded in the present.

So the next time you debate whether to take that risk, remember that most people around you probably feel the same way, and it’s the ones who overcome this fear who succeed.