Every day we tend to take things for granted, until they're gone. This reoccurring habit that all humans tend to possess is especially evident as we transition from high school into college. This exciting big step in life is probably one of the major milestones where the most change in life we will ever encounter occurs. This is when we tend to look back in retrospect and realize that we took many things for granted in high school. Here are 15 examples of what college students took for granted in years past:
1. Always Having Your Family Around
You see your family every day and this might cause you to take them for granted. But don't. When you leave to go off to college (and some of you will go very far), being apart from them will cause you to miss their presence, jokes, nitpicking, and cautionary warnings that show you they care about your wellbeing. Trust me, you might have hated this when you lived with them, but you will soon miss it once you're gone. Unless you're a commuter, then you still get to see them every day.
2. Seeing Your Friends Every Day
In high school, you get to see your friends every day. In college, everyone has different schedules and your roommate probably isn't going to have the same major or classes that come with it. So, be thankful for this simple luxury of being able to hang out with your friends daily. In college, everyone will have their own class schedules, stressful homework hours, and sleep times.
3. Free Textbooks
You hate textbooks. And who can blame you? Textbooks mean reading and completing assignments for your classes. And who wants to do that when they could be watching Netflix instead? But stop whining about textbooks and be grateful that you aren't paying for them. The pain of every college student is textbook shopping. Not only is it heart wrenching seeing your money swirling down the drain (college textbooks can be expensive and make bank accounts all over the nation cry for days), but searching for discounts on textbooks is an even more stressful and irksome feat.
4. Having Money
In college, having spare money really isn't an option. Even if you have a college job, money seems to be a nonexistent dream or something almost unattainable. You just never have enough. So appreciate that allowance your parents give you and never complain about not having money. You never know what not having money is until you're a college student. Especially when your college tries to charge you money for breathing their air and walking on their sidewalks.
5. Scheduled Lunch Time
In high school, there is an allotted time for lunch. Not only was this break something that you could look forward to during those classes that you hated or had no motivation to take notes or pay attention in, but this was a time to socialize with friends. Well, in college there is no scheduled lunch time. You have to go during your own time, make sure you even remember to go, and hope that you don't have any classes that coincide with the lunch break your friends have.
6. Home Cooked Meals
You might complain about homemade meals all the time. However, when you have to finally prepare your own meals or walk all the way to the dining hall to grab some food all on your own, you'll learn to quickly appreciate going back home to your parent's homemade meals. Especially, when the college food eventually becomes repetitive, boring, and you eventually get sick of eating, seeing, and smelling it. So don't take what you have for granted while it's there right in front of you.
7. Laundry
Your mom might have done your laundry all throughout your life. However, in college, your mom isn't there to do your laundry for you. Also, laundry isn't free. Sorry! So grab that basket, load up the dirty clothes, and crack open that washing machine door. Oh, and don't forget your detergent in your room or you'll have to make the trek back to get it. That's not free either. But then again, nothing is!
8. That Easy A
Getting an A in a high school class is a piece of cake. And I'm not just saying that because high school is behind me now. In college, classes are only a semester long, which means less time to make up grades. Also, some classes don't have many assignments which means that exams are a higher percentage of your overall grade and have a bigger impact than they did in high school. Yikes. And extra credit? Is that even a thing in college? Usually not.
9. Flexible Deadlines
Deadlines are set in stone in college. You might have been able to make up some lame excuse to persuade your teacher to allow you to turn in an assignment late. That doesn't fly in college. Deadlines are set in the syllabus and professors take the syllabus very, very seriously.
10. "Sick Days"
What exactly is sick day in college? Good question. There are no sick days in college. In high school you could have a sick day and expect the teacher to tell you what you missed or get the notes from a friend. In college, professors cram so much information in one class that missing a day means missing so much and having a lot of catching up to do. A lot.
11. Fieldtrips
A nice break in curriculum--fieldtrips--were always something to look forward to in high school, even though many students complained about them sometimes and thought they were the lamest thing ever. But guess what? There are no fieldtrips in college, so appreciate the ones you have now while you have a chance.
12. No Night Classes
In high school, your schedule is consistent. Sure, not having to wake up at 8 AM is pleasant, however having night classes is the worst. This means no hanging out at night and many of your friends will probably not have night classes like you do. Also, you'll have to eat lunch either really early or really late.
13. Knowing Your Teacher
Going to a small private school, my teachers do know my name and can talk one on one with me. However, in bigger colleges with hundreds of students in a class, your professor will not always know your name or have the time to personally answer your questions. Also, you can't really be their best bud like you could with your teachers in high school. Have a question about a deadline? Good luck, they'll refer you to the syllabus (which they'll probably expect you to memorize and know by heart).
14. Having Your Guidance Counselor Plan Your Schedule
Registering for classes as a college student sucks. In high school, your guidance counselor was your superhero and compiled your class schedule for you with all the classes you needed. But, gone are the days where someone was planning your schedule for you. Now you have to painstakingly plan it out yourself, rushing and hoping that the classes you need don't fill up before you get a chance to join. What a hassle.
15. Being Able To Get Away With Some Things
You are an adult now. You don't get special leeway in college. So appreciate it while you still have the "I'm a dumb, naïve high school kid" card, but don't abuse it. Just know, you aren't going to get special treatment in college. Welcome to the real world, my friend.
So, Current High School Students, don't take what you have for granted because for now it seems trivial, but once you make the great transition in life (called college) you will regret not appreciating the cozy little luxuries you have now.
