North Dakota State students have come to confess. Through a yellow box, I asked students one of the hardest questions you could ask someone, “Want to confess?” The Spectrum sought to listen to the students and hear what they wanted to get off their chests.

These confessions aren’t religiously backed and ultimately, we can’t offer any forgiveness. Rather, we offer an open forum free from judgment and damnation. Because in this life, aren’t we defined more by what we don’t tell people than what we present to the world?

I believe the latter. I believe that each and every one of you has a skeleton buried deep within the recesses of your closets, and at the end of the day when you are hiding everything away, guess what? It’s fine.

It is okay to have things you regret — we all do.

Your mistakes do not define you. What you choose to confess is not you. Rather, it is something you have been carrying around that you can finally drop and let go.

These confessions aren’t something to keep inside and torture yourself over. You are you, not what you wrote on a tiny piece of paper.

So what, you failed a class and didn’t tell your parents? Who cares if you have a dildo? The only person who probably cares is you, and if anyone else cares, screw ’em.

While the confession booth got confessions like, “I smoke weed,” and, “I am a Packers fan,” that isn’t all we got.

We also had a girl we asked for a confession from, only to have her stop in the middle of the hall and through obvious emotions say, “I just did really poorly on an exam.”

This is a confession. We for some reason believe that success is a smooth road — it isn’t. Failure and mistakes are a part of everyone’s journey. To confess over these and to address that we aren’t perfect is one of the most important parts of life.

So, I see your, “I think I’ll never find true love,” and I will listen to your confession that you, “Continuously skipped class,” because at the end of the day we all feel things like that from time to time.

We all feel at times that, “I’m not very good at managing my time,” and that is fine. We will listen to our fellow classmates and peers because they deserve it — because you deserve it. Keep healthy, and remember to fight through your fear of rejection and shame when it comes to confessing.