Ahhh, the sweet smell of freedom. I remember it all so well. You just graduated high school, spent the summer with all of your friends and now you are preparing to load on up and head on out to your new found home -- aka college town. And all you are thinking about is how much fun it is going to be. Trust me, the first year is pretty great, but here are some things that will hit you like a ton of bricks at times...

1. You thought waking up at 7 a.m. for class was hard? Just wait until you start having to pull all-nighters for that paper you have been putting off for weeks just to wake up after two hours (if you are lucky) of sleep to turn it in and have another day of classes.

2. 4 a.m. rolls around and maybe you are just rolling into your dorm after a night out or you're just plain hungry. Well, no more kitchen in the same house as you and no more left overs of momma's lasagna.

3. All that money that you got for graduation is great, and I bet that your plan was to save it for college. Well - that will last you for maybe a month... And then it's all about learning to ball on a budget real quick.

4. It sure was nice knowing all of those 20 kids in your classroom and already having a group of friends. Now you are walking into a 300 person lecture hall class where your chances of knowing someone are slim to none and you start the process of making new friends all over again.

5. You would have imagined that every weekend was full of parties and social events, and while that is true, it is also full of assignments. And so begins the lesson learned of time management. It will be your lifesaver.

6. No more just throwing your dirty clothes in a hamper and waiting for mom to come pick it up. Now you gotta walk down the hall on your own time and commit to an hour of remembering that you have laundry in the hall dryer.

7. There are never enough hours in your day -- plain and simple.

8. The freshman 15 is a real thing -- The caf food sucks and the midnight/drunk eating will kill you. Also, there is no time to really go to the gym because the reality of school, sleep and a social life will start to consume you.

9. That boyfriend/ girlfriend that you are trying to stay long distance with from high school... Good luck! Because they are rough and probably won't last.

10. College is some of the best years of your life. It's cliched and so true! So enjoy everything that comes your way.