Correct me if I'm wrong, but we've all said or at least thought, "I can't wait to get out of high school" or "College needs to come sooner!"
Don't get me wrong, college gives you some of the best years of your life, in which you meet new people, try new things, and find out who you really are. However, I guarantee there will be many points throughout your college years where you will actually be missing high school.
1) The parking lot you always struggled to find a spot in, complaining about the $100 per year parking pass? Yeah, well, try paying nearly $200 only to still be a few blocks from campus. Now that two minute walk inside for $50 a semester doesn't seem so bad, does it?
2) Going to miss a week of school for a family vacation? No problem, just talk to your teachers! If only it were still that easy. Not only do you have to play major catch up if you decide to "take a week off" in college, but most professors don't care that your family is going on vacation or you have to go home for a few days and will be missing class .... Your absence is still unexcused and you will still lose points.
3) The days where you had to do one or maybe a few chores around the house are long gone. You may want to thank Mom for showing you how to do your own laundry and dishes. Because now, there's nobody who's going to vacuum the house, clean the toilets, go through the fridge, organize cupboards, do the dishes, do your laundry .... It's all up to you now!
4) Remember all those times you complained about "not having any food" at home? Oh, well, trust me, you will be running out of every last grocery item to avoid stepping into those money-sucking doors they call the grocery store when it's you who's paying. Never realized how it all adds up when it wasn't coming out of your wallet!
5) The two hours of homework a week that seemed so horrible in high school... you'll be lucky if you're not spending two hours a day doing school work now. A library may seem like a foreign concept to those pre-college teens, but it will become your best friend in no time. Studying many hours a week, sometimes even a day per class, will definitely take a toll on you at times.
6) Those one-hour class periods may have seemed to take forever, but when you get those in college, it's hardly considered going to class. Many times I remember sitting and watching the clock, but the hour-long classes now are nothing. You can expect most classes to go for at least an hour and a half, often even longer.
7) OK, we can all agree that we had some great memories in high school. Between getting ready for football games with all your friends, going to prom (not to mention the after-party bus), even just meeting at the lockers and seeing all your friends for a few minutes between classes. We don't realize the memories we're making until they're over. No worries though, there's many more to be made in the next four years.
8) Believe it or not, you'll miss the relationships you made with teachers. In college, your professor's job is to teach the material, and that's what they do. Most do not have interest in getting to know you personally or in that case even your name. It's nice building a relationship where you can go to your teachers with comfort in approaching them. College professors are a different ball game.
9) Your biggest worry was winning your high school sports game or getting an A on that big test. Worrying gets taken to a whole new level when it's the rest of your life that you are working for. Test grades become a lot bigger deal, relationships get way more serious, and decisions get a lot harder.
10) And last, but definitely not least, it goes without saying that you are going to miss your high school friends. Trust me on this one, there really is nobody like the friends you grew up with. They've been there to watch and help you grow into the person you are. They know your family and every weird detail about you. You will make new best friends, but never will be able to replace these ones.
High school definitely had its ups and downs ... but you don't or won't realize how nice some things were until it all changes.
THAT SAID, there's nothing like college. The first time being on your own, having real responsibility, making new friends and making some of the best memories of your life!
