I’ve been at college for a while now, and it’s safe to say I enjoy it a lot. I’ve met great people, most of my classes have been interesting, and it’s been overall a unique experience, but there are a few things I miss from high school. It’s not a lot of things, but a few.
1. Easy Workload
I really didn’t have that much work to do in high school. I took honors and AP classes, yet it was quite rare that I actually had to do homework at home. Sure, with my AP classes there was some times I had to write essays or read some books, but besides that I could usually finish my work in other classes during free times. I could even get away with studying for easy tests in the classes before. It was so much different from the type of workload I have in college, so I really miss that easiness from high school.
2. Lack of Responsibility
Because I was in high school and “just a teenager,” I didn’t have to worry too much about my future. I mean, I had to prepare for the SATs and apply for college, but other than that I could really spend my free time doing whatever I wanted to. It was nice having summer and free time where I didn’t have to get a job and I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to do in a year’s time.
3. Always Seeing the Squad
With different class schedules and jobs and general responsibilities, it’s hard to always see friends, but that wasn’t always the case with high school. Usually, your friends would be scattered throughout your classes during the day, so you could always see them. And if that wasn’t the case, there was always time in between classes and after school to hang out with everyone. In college, you can always hang out with the squad after classes, but there is always a thought in the back of your head that you should probably be doing work.
4. Holidays
I’m not entirely sure why, but as I’ve grown up holidays (like Halloween and Christmas) have seemed less fun and special. Maybe it’s just the aspect of becoming an adult, but things seem less seasonal, even with holiday movie marathons. At least in high school as time got closer to the specific holiday there would typically be seasonal work, like horror stories in English class, or nice teachers giving out candy. It was particularly special when teachers decorated their rooms. And of course, the last day before winter break would be filled with Christmas movies and class parties.
5. School Breaks
We usually had so many days off from school, whether because of teacher-in-service, or holidays, or even snow days, and I mean, it was pretty great. There are only a few days scheduled for no class during the semester, and with good reason, but as a teenager in the boring dull of high school, those days off were looked forward to for weeks. And of course, at least when there was a foot of snow on the ground class was actually canceled.
While I am very happy that I am done with high school, a part of me will miss the simplicity of it. There is nothing like the ability to come home after a full day of school and not have to worry about any type of homework or future assignments.
