Everyone says that high school is the best four years of your life—that once you walk across the stage and receive your diploma, everything is a downward spiral from there on out. Well, maybe that's true for some people, but for me it was just the opposite. Once I was released from the prison that was my high school, I began to notice quite a few things I was previously blind to.
1. You Realize Who Your True Friends Are
Remember all those people you just adored in high school? You swore to remain in touch always and hang out on every break. The reality is you will probably stay in touch with 10 or fewer people from high school. Breaks will be dedicated to seeing those few people and avoiding the rest of your graduating class like the plague.
2. You Realize How Much Things That Mattered In High School Don't Anymore
Do you honestly know what your valedictorian is doing with their life now? What about the star of the football team? Chances are you do not. During high school, being popular and having a label seems like the most important thing at the time. However, once you get to college, you realize how little people actually care about what number you were in your graduating class or how many points you scored in your school's rival game. When it comes down to it, what matters is that you're a good person.
3. There's More To The World Than Your Hometown
Before leaving and living somewhere else for awhile, your hometown can feel like the whole world. It's where you grow up, battled the terrors of middle school, and graduated. However, once you get out of town and live in new surroundings for a while, you begin to realize it is not. While nothing may ever compare to your favorite restaurant in your town, you'll realize that not all towns have a congregation of pick up trucks in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
4. You Have To Actually Take Work Seriously
In high school, you may be able to slide by in classes by making friends with the teachers or doing extra credit. But in college, you must actually establish a work ethic. No professor is going to raise your final grade just because you are one of their favorite students. If you don't do the work, you don't get the results you want. It may be a rude awakening at first, but it is definitely one of the most rewarding lessons to learn.
5. Establishing A Time Schedule Is Vital
Remember when it was cute and funny to be known as the notoriously late person? Well once you get to college this is no longer the case. If you keep walking into classes late, the professors begin to assume you are irresponsible and rude. If you keep trying to hand in assignments late, they assume you are just lazy and don't care. Invest in a planner, an alarm clock, and some good walking shoes for those days when you have to make class or events in the nick of time.
6. You're Going To Need Mom More Than You Ever Thought
First two weeks of college when you still have no friends? You'll be calling Mom and begging to transfer. First time you're sick at school and on your own? You'll call Mom begging to come take care of you. Whatever small catastrophe is happening at the time, chances are you will be calling your mom for help. So don't take the time at home with her for granted because you'll be willing to give anything to have her at school with you once problems arise.
