Financial Freedom 101

Hi, I am a rising junior in college. I believe that many people are misinformed about investing in the stock market. I started researching the stock market about three years ago. When I started I tried to trade penny stocks but I ended up losing a lot of money. I then realized that investing in the short term is not realistic for a kid who is going into his first year of college. I then gathered my money and invested into fortune 500 companies that I thought would remain successful for the next 20 years, nothing but gains since I changed my strategy.