As my college move-in date creeps closer and closer, it's becoming more and more real to me that I won't be walking back through the doors of my high school this September. High school is actually over and in some ways, it still doesn't seem real. While there are so many things about high school that I'll miss, like my friends, my teammates, (some of) my teachers and all the classes and experiences that I loved, there are so many other aspects of high school that I know I won't miss one bit. Finishing high school is always bittersweet, but thinking about never having to deal with these things again certainly makes the end seem just a bit sweeter.

Here are five things I DEFINITELY won't miss about high school:

1. The Ridiculous Dress Code

If there was one thing about the high school handbook that really ticked me off, it was the school dress code. I always thought the most outrageous thing was the fact that a girl's shoulders were the most scandalous thing someone could see in the school hallway. Did our administrators REALLY think that seeing a girl's shoulders would distract someone (particularly the boys) so much from their education that they had to completely outlaw them? Apparently so, because our assistant principal would stand by the front door every morning and like a lioness picking out the weak zebras in the herd, she'd pull girls out of the pack one by one and into the office if God forbid she saw one ripped pant leg, one shoulder or shorts that weren't "Bermuda length." It used to make me so angry because they were disrupting all of these girls' education to make them change their clothes out of the fear that the sight of their legs or shoulders would interrupt or distract the male students or male faculty. I am so looking forward to being able to dress myself and not have to worry about avoiding administrators who might give me a hard time for my ripped jeans.

2. Waking Up Before Sunrise Every Day

My high school started at 7:05 a.m. every single day. That meant I was usually up before the crack of dawn (especially if I wanted to look halfway decent). It is so hard to be motivated for the day ahead when you wake up and it's still dark out. Some days, especially when I played sports, I would leave in the dark and get home in the dark. I felt like I never actually saw the sunlight at some points, especially in the winter. Waking up in a dark room makes it feel like I never actually went to sleep and it would make me feel as if getting out of bed was a lost cause. Although sleep won't be much better in college, at least I won't be up at 5:30 in the morning every day.

3. Standardized Testing

State tests are pretty much the bane of every single student and teacher's existence in high school. All they do is pile more stress on top of already-existing stress. They disrupt the flow of classes, are mentally and physically draining, and making the school days and school year, in general, seem exponentially longer than they actually are. The week of taking whatever test the state has decided to make mandatory that year is the most discombobulated and unorganized span of time anybody could ever live through. Not to mention they are totally unnecessary for the most part. They do nothing to measure a student's proficiency in certain subjects and are only an unfair way to judge the student and teacher based on statistics that are collected without taking any variables into account. Luckily, I made it out of there before they really started the push to make passing all of these standardized tests a graduation requirement. There is certainly no love lost between standardized testing and I.

4. Doing The Same Thing Every Single Day

One thing that made high school unbearable at times was just how repetitive it was. I would be going to the same classes at the exact same time, walking the same exact route with the same exact people every day. We would talk about the same things, walk at the same exact speed, and sit in the same exact seats during every period of every day. At times, it really became so predictable and repetitive that even the slightest change would feel exciting. Taking a different route to English class or being in the computer lab for Comparative Governments would often make my day just because it was something different. Of course, in college you have a certain schedule, but at least classes are spread out and I have more time to do different things in between them every day, instead of finding the fastest route to class to beat the late bell after four minutes and following that same route every time.

5. Gym Class

Don't get me wrong, I love to be active and I love to play sports, but I won't be missing the inconvenience of having gym class every day. The hassle of having to remember gym clothes and then having to change into them and out of them during the day was just so inconvenient for me. Not to mention, if I had gym early in the day I'd be all sweaty and my hair would be ruined for the rest of the day. I also don't enjoy forced physical activity. If I want to get active I will do it on my own and on my own terms. I did always put in enough effort to get a good grade, but honestly, winning kickball or wiffleball during class was never the highlight of my week. I know my 35 minutes of gym class every day isn't what kept me in shape throughout high school, so I'm very okay with not having to continue it every day in college.

There are so many things I will miss about high school, but knowing that there are things like these that I will be happy to leave behind makes it so much easier to move on.