In his book entitled “Man’s Search for Meaning,” concentration camp survivor, Viktor Frankl, describes how many concentration camp prisoners, understandably, “preferred to close their eyes and live in the past” rather than embrace a level of contentment and victory in their new normal. As a result, Frankly writes, many prisoners existed in a vegetative state with precious little “inner triumph.“

The conditions these men and women endured are more than I can imagine. But there have been times when I, too, have been tempted to escape rather than embrace.

New normals challenge us. College life with all its freedom and adventures isn’t always easy. Expenses haunt us, there are roommates to adjust to, and who likes ramen noodles anyway? The question is—will you retreat or exercise the muscle of your inner strength and find personal victory? Frankl says the answer, in part, is in having a hope for the future—“sub specie aeternitatis.” Sounds like a fancy term for college degree and successful career. Here’s hoping.