I hated High School. I could not wait to get to college, be on my own, learn about what I wanted to learn about and grow up. Now I'm a college student, I'm on my own, I'm learning about what I want to learn about and I'm growing up... but I want to turn back time. When you're young you want to grow up. You want to be able to drive, make money, date and live on your own. Kids today act much older than they are purely because they crave independence, freedom and adulthood. As a girl who rushed to be a woman, I can tell you this.
1. Hold tight to your friendships.
Treasure the nights that you have sleepovers with your friends and stay up watching movies until 6 a.m and then sleep until 3 p.m. I promise those will become a distant memory. They will feel like they were part of a different lifetime because even though you still have those friends, at this age you're too busy to be with them every waking moment. And if you are with them, chances are you fall asleep before 10 p.m because you had classes or work all day and haven't had a full-night's sleep in months.
2. Enjoy the free food.
Whether it's your mom or dad putting it on the dinner table or the food you're served at school, enjoy that it's free. There's going to be a time when you have to pay hundreds of dollars for food. My college meal plan is a pretty hefty payment and if you don't live at school, grocery shopping for food for a month is probably a few hundred dollars too depending on where you shop and the quality of food.
3. Sleep as often as you can.
I promise you that once you get to college, sleep is going to be one of the many benefits of childhood that you wish you could have again. It could be hours of homework or working long hours to pay for the food I mentioned in the prior paragraph, but whatever it may be, it will take away time from your sleep schedule. Actually, I don't know a college student who can maintain a sleep schedule.
4. Don't rush to do adult things.
I know there's a hype when it comes to underage drinking, dating, partying and being on your own. But if you get into all of that before you get to be of age or at that stage in life, when that age or time comes, there isn't much to be excited about.
5. Value family.
They will not always be there. It took me living at school to realize how much I enjoyed spending time with my family. Some of you will be heading to colleges far from home or moving across the country for employment. Treasure the time you have with them now.
Adulthood is beautiful but along with it comes a certain amount of responsibility and patience. Trust that the pros to adulthood will come when they are meant to. I implore you to enjoy the pros to childhood first because they won't always be there.
