It didn’t seem like long ago that I was a high school senior, and it seemed like it would be forever before I would call myself a senior again. But, here I am—a senior in college. Though I’m feeling a lot of the same ways I did before, there are quite a few things I’ve noticed are going to be different. Here’s five ways high school and college seniors are different:

1. Starting Back

I remember the days of being a high school senior and that honestly seems like ages ago now. I remember my first day back feeling like I was the big dog, the mighty upperclassman, but going in as a senior in college, I don’t feel very different. To me, in college, class rank doesn’t play as big of a role as it does in high school. Yes we upperclassman can get a little annoyed with the youngsters the floor below us if they get a little loud and we envy the way they don’t have to worry about their classes as much, but other than that, freshman are freshman. Where as in high school, the freshman were basically just there for us to make fun of. Honestly, high school was so boring we had to come up with stuff like that just to keep us entertained, however in college, there just simply isn’t any time.

2. The Classes

Ah, the classes I had as a senior in high school. Granted I had an AP class somewhere in the schedule and the ever-dreadful math class, but other than that my schedule was gold. I didn’t have much to worry about and I don’t remember ever being too stressed and, after surviving the forever-scarring junior year, that break was well-deserved. Most people go into their last year of high school knowing it’s going to be glorious. We know that either we’re going to have really -- and I mean really -- easy classes, or we’re going to be doing co-op, or taking a college class somewhere that allows us to leave school after only being there for a couple of hours, making getting up at the butt crack of dawn to be there at 8:00 a.m. even more pointless. However, in college, I’m going into this last year knowing that it’s going to be Hades on earth. My schedule is jam-packed with classes and on top of that, there are plenty of other obligations such as internships, seminars and whatever else you've managed to get yourself into by the time you're a senior. Senior year in college is not a time to relax, it’s the time we have to step up and take hold of every opportunity that comes our way and all I can seem to say when thinking about all the things I’m going to be doing this coming year is “Lord, help me.” Seriously.

3. The Emotions

As stated earlier, I am feeling a lot the same emotions as I was as a senior in high school. I’m feeling sad that this part of my life is coming to an end; that I’m going to have to say goodbye to a lot of people that I love and to a place that I can call home. However, I feel like the dominant emotion I felt as a senior in high school was excitement, but now, it’s honestly fear. In high school I was excited about what was to come. I was excited that I wouldn’t have to be stuck in those tiny school hallways that were in no way, shape, or form logical, and I was also excited about the new adventure to come, and the freedom I was going to have. Now, I’m not saying I didn’t have any fear of moving away from home and being tossed into a completely new environment and city going into college; that thought gave me its fair share of jitters, but leaving college is something else entirely. I’m leaving school with the thought that I’m leaving school forever. I’m leaving something that I’ve known for almost two decades. Two decades, people. That is a long time. Life is about to completely change. Leaving high school, I knew college was coming. Yes it would be very different, but it was still school, still time to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Now time is running out, and now reality and the real world are coming and I’ll be the first one to say that a thought like that is scary.

4. Graduation

I haven’t reached this part of the college experience myself just yet, but I have seen people go through it and I’ve attended a few college graduations. In high school as a senior that was the biggest day of your life and it seemed like the whole year led up to this one moment. The seniors at my high school were celebrated all throughout the year, not just at graduation, but hey, I'm not complaining about that. I had attended many high school graduations before I had my own and it always seemed like such a huge deal. The gym would be overflowing with people and there would be no seats left because everyone and their grandmother were there, literally. When the graduating class would come out everyone would stand to their feet applauding and camera flashes were everywhere (which was always my favorite part). All year as a senior in high school, it seemed was just preparing for this moment, from senior pictures, invitations, cap and gown fittings, graduation rehearsals, senior T-shirts, and joining as many clubs as you could just so you could decorate your gown with cords to look really smart at graduation, am I right? It was a huge deal, but in college to me it seems graduation is like:

5. The Decisions

When you think about it, being a high school or college senior presents similar decisions; you basically have two options: The real world or more school. After high school, it's obviously college and after college, it's grad school. So what makes the difference between the two here? I guess it just comes down to the person. If you don't plan on going to graduate school after college, like myself, then it's very different from when you were in high school. Where do you go from here? After graduating high school I knew I was going to college and that, in itself, was scary, but the future wasn't completely unknown. Now it is. But the decision is always yours what you do next. Yes the unknown future may be absolutely horrifying; the unknown is what we humans seem to fear the most (next to public speaking). But in the midst of all that fear is opportunity and adventure. Sure you'll be asking yourself "What now?" and "Where do I go from here?" and questioning your next steps in life, but the absolutely wonderful thing about that is the world is your oyster.