I transferred to the University of Central Florida from Palm Beach State College back in August 2015 and since then my life has changed... and continues to change. You learn a lot, not just in school but about other people, about yourself, and about life in general. But that's another day.

Being a transfer student, I won't lie when I say that on the very first day I moved up here to Orlando, the first thing I said as soon as my mom left was "Hallelujah!" It was a new beginning, a new experience, a new chapter in my life! But there are some things I for sure miss about attending community college, regardless of how much I love university life.

1. The smaller class sizes.

Coming here and having a few lecture hall classes with around 200 people is practically the whole fish-in-pond scenario... it was kind of annoying having to be around so many people in one space, so I can only imagine what freshmen have to go through.

In fact, in my Rhetoric and Civic Engagement course back in Fall 2015, one girl who'd been at UCF from the beginning said that out of all the class sizes she's seen, she preferred this class of around 25 students. That has resonated with me since then. Even as a super senior, I still prefer smaller class sizes; luckily, that's all I have now!

2. All the professors know your name.

Although this changes in university once you go higher up in your major, it's a given that in lecture hall classes, you're still a statistic. In all community college courses, including gen-eds, professors take time to know everybody's name and a little more about them. In my experience, too, they made themselves available at all times during their office hours.

3. The easiness of courses.

Seriously, my gen-ed classes were a frickin' breeze. I ended up finishing community college with a 3.85 GPA. But since continuing my education in a university, my GPA has dipped; only by about .2 points. I learned that once you get to your university of choice, you have to work to keep up your excellent GPA, especially since you're going into your major-specific courses.

4. Everything is on a smaller scale.

When I was at community college, it wasn't even just the classes that were smaller, it was pretty much everything else: the campus, the distance you'd have to walk to get from one place to another (OK, maybe I'm a little pissy that UCF is so big and I sweat buckets just walking anywhere), the events, clubs and organizations, and more. It actually felt like you even sort of belonged and that you weren't just another random, nameless person.

5. Living with your family.

This is a pro and a con in itself, but when you're in community college, it's mostly pros. You don't have to pay rent, food is free, and you won't have to worry about moving anywhere until the time comes. Living on my own is amazing, but sometimes I miss not having to worry about getting my own groceries, you know?

6. You're still close to your favorite parts of your hometown.

I miss going to the Gardens Mall every other week to shop till I drop. I miss popping into thrift stores around the West Palm Beach area to buy new books, clothes, or (as of recently) new records. I miss passing by downtown West Palm, especially when Sunfest is around! What I'm saying is, while I love Orlando and nearly everything about it, I can't help but anticipate going home for a few days to experience these little things again before coming back up.