As I’ve made clear before, it can be really difficult. The cards are clearly stacked against you, and anything remotely right of center is against the grain — there are a whole lot of liberal college students out there, a whole lot of Obama voters in very confined spaces. And many won’t keep quiet, making their political views well known.

They’re entitled do that outwardness, of course, but it doesn’t make life any easier for you. For those in the ideological minority (like myself), the sheer intensity of left-wing sentiment can make for an overwhelming atmosphere. According to CNN, just about 60% of those registered voters aged 18-29 — right around 20% of the overall American electorate — chose the Democratic candidate in the 2012 general election, with college students making up a large chunk of that resounding majority. Those who attended at least “some college” were also more likely to pull for Barack Obama.

His unique coalition of voters — African-Americans, Latinos, single women — drew much of its fervor and passion from the youngest generation of American voters, namely the college students who called and picketed and knocked on millions of doors across the country. The Obama machine would have been far less effective without that youth activism, and that level of excitement is precisely the challenge facing more conservative college students across the country. College Democrats are really motivated, and they’re pretty much everywhere.

What’s more, students attending liberal arts colleges in the Northeast — Vassar College and Williams College come to mind — tend to be even more liberal than the average college student. The extreme left (even beyond President Obama) is not unknown at a place like Vassar, from communist propaganda to Elizabeth Warren’s adoring fan club.

If you’re right of center on a liberal campus, then you most likely don’t have much in common with your peers, politically speaking. That’s just the way of life, and you learn to deal with it after a while. I’ve taken a lot of Political Science classes at Vassar, a liberal bastion in New York, so I know all too well.

And it doesn’t help that your professor is probably liberally biased as well, because you’re trained to look at him or her as an authority figure.

But, you shouldn’t lose all hope either. Being a conservative on a liberal campus can actually become a blessing in disguise, if you take the appropriate steps. Eventually, you embrace your role as a minority on campus, in a different sense of the word, which is much more comfortable and reassuring than the shock that naturally comes with freshman year — I knew that Vassar students were more liberal than most, but not to such a radical extent. You grow accustomed to the liberal banter and, ultimately, it all just stops bothering you. The skin grows thicker after a while.

I still feel isolated at times, like I’m a social outcast with bizarre beliefs. But, the feeling of loneliness can easily be outweighed by the positives. I’ve learned how to deal with all sorts of different people, to debate them with reason instead of emotion. You get to know the other side pretty well and that helps you get your own message across. When the other side isn’t so novel anymore, it’s more possible to discuss the issues and converse with them. Being part of a liberal campus exposes you to the other side, and so you eventually learn the weaknesses and downfalls embedded within their slanted arguments. It’s an incredible opportunity, and many conservative college students don’t fully comprehend how accessible the “other” becomes.

You also grow more resolute in your convictions, precisely because you know what (and who) constitutes the other side. I’ve come to the realization that I’m not one of them, and so I’ve become more comfortable with myself — my political views, my stance on a particular issue, my allegiance to the Republican Party. You become one with yourself because you’re become so removed from the rest of campus, and there’s immense power in that.

I’m grateful for it in the end. The journey isn’t always so straightforward and the polarized groupthink on campus can be treacherous, adverse at times. But, you learn a lot about yourself and others in the process.

If you educate yourself about the issues and stick to your guns, college can be an incredible experience. The former is crucial, since it’s impossible to debate without the statistics and key facts. The latter is vital, because that conviction will bring you out on the other side unscathed and fully prepared for the real world. Education and self-confidence go a long, long way — and college has helped me see the light.

It can be really difficult, but there’s light in all of that darkness. I know that now, and I’m a better man for it.