I remember being a senior in high school and always seeing posts on Facebook or Twitter explaining to me to take advantage of every moment in high school because I would miss everything about it in college. I expected to come to college completely missing high school, and I was so scared at the fact that my entire life was changing. I thought that college would be terrifying. However, the second I got to college, high school was the last thing on my mind.
High school was pretty typical for me. I didn’t have the best or worst time of my life, but I somehow I had a breakdown at my graduation. I never felt like I peaked in high school until that moment. The thought of college scared me so much. I kept thinking about all of the articles about how seniors need to take in every moment in high school and just couldn’t believe that it was all over. However, those articles didn’t tell me all of the things that I would love about college, and I really wish they did.
There are so many amazing things about college and the thought of spending a day in high school ever again makes me wants to gag. I never realized how restricted I was in high school until I got to college. We had to be at class at a certain time, we couldn’t wear tank tops and we couldn’t even chew gum. There’s literally people at my college who walk into class 10 minutes late wearing pajamas and no one would notice. Also, no one cares about cliques in college. In high school, it was all about friend groups, and you couldn’t really be friends with someone who wasn’t in your group of friends. In college, no one cares who you hang out with and there’s no real reputation to uphold. I can’t get over how much better college is compared to high school.
I went back to my high school once during winter break. The second I went in there I got instant bad vibes. All of the students were just waiting outside the doors waiting for the bell to ring to leave. I’m so used to leaving my college classes whenever I please so I just felt so weird thinking that I was doing the same exact thing not even a year ago. I love the fact that college forces you to be independent. I can understand how it’s hard for some people to be dropped off at a college away from home and having to do everything on their own, but for me, I love everything about it.
It’s crazy for me to think that I was so terrified to start college. It’s even crazier for me to think that people prefer high school to college. I understand that high school was fun and all, but college allows people to grow and become independent. High school had its nice moments sometimes, but college is absolutely amazing. Overall, if I could give advice to a senior in high school who felt as nervous as me, I would tell them to enjoy those final moments in high school but to not be nervous about college because it’s really not as intimidating as it seems.