When most people get out of high school the number thing they want to do is to be different than they were for the last four years. You're getting ready to start the most exciting part of life yet. For some, this means college and for others, it is starting a career right away. The one thing that is for certain, no matter what route you choose, is that change is going to happen. Change can be wonderful if you choose to make the most of the opportunities that are presented to you. Here are three things that are bound to change after the heavy doors of your high school years swing shut.

1. Your Friends

People grow and develop in different paths. The best friends you had in high school may have very different life goals than you. It also becomes hard to talk every day when you live miles apart and have radically different homework and classes. Keep in mind that It is okay to find new friends. There are different students from all around the states and some even different countries. You will build friendships with individuals who have viewpoints that may fit better with yours. It is really true that sometimes you find your best friends for life at a college 200 miles from home. This is also the time to cut off the toxic people in your life. If the only thing keeping people together is the fact they know each other, it is time to put the relationship to rest.

2. Your Interests

You go to college and you have this awesome picture in your head of what the next four years will look like. Then you get to your first major class and you hate it. You can't stand the idea of doing this for the next four years. You can't stand the idea of doing this for life or work. So you start looking through the class catalogs and you find a class that sounds interesting and that plan you had formed before you arrived starts to change. You begin to build a new path. The best thing is, you're not alone. Most college students change their major at least once. That path you began with can have twists and turns but it's one hell of a ride. The best thing I did was I found a mentor. Even though I discovered what I wanted career-wise, I found an adult that discussed growing up and finding a passion. She helped me see that I could be really great in another field of my choosing even if it was scary to leave the set path.

3. Your sense of self

In high school, I was the nobody girl who didn't have an opinion. I didn't really like exercise, and I didn't speak up about my relationships. I started to grow in college. I got fiercely independent. I started to speak up about what I wanted more, some people really didn't like that. I also started to focus on my health. I went to the gym and found ways to make exercise fun. I started to become a new me. This wasn't an easy change, it was really hard actually. It's taken three years but now I love who I am and where I'm going. My outspokenness gets me in trouble sometimes but I've also gotten some great opportunities from opening up my mouth and asking for what I wanted.

These are some major things that change for everyone. Some people have smaller changes some have larger self-awakening changes. You become a better you. The most import part of all of the change is to not let other people tell you what changes to make. You have to do it for you. If you do it for a group of friends, partners, or family then the change will fall through and die out. You are the one with the power to change yourself, how you want to and when you want to. So, make the changes you see fit.

"The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new." -Socrates