As my first semester of college is beginning to come to an end, I'm starting to realize how much I miss high school. I went to a small, K-12 private school, so I spent the past 13 years of my life at the same school. Moving on to college was a very weird transition for me. I hadn't had to deal with change in 13 years, and college is a lot of change at once.

Going through college has made me realize how special and unique my high school experience was, and it's really making me appreciate my time at my high school. I really miss knowing everyone in my classes and feeling comfortable with all of them, and I really miss playing 3 sports. In high school, I played soccer, basketball, and softball; in college, I'm just playing softball. I didn't miss soccer that much, but since college basketball season is starting, I'm starting to realize that I really miss playing on the court. Being able to play multiple sports was great, and it gave my body something different to do rather than just play softball all year round.

I really miss having classes from 8am until 3pm, and then being able to either go to practice or come home. I miss being able to look forward to softball tournaments and practices on the weekends. I miss working out with my trainer and my pitching coach. I miss the atmosphere of travel softball and I miss everything about being home. Every time I come home, I realize how much I miss being around everything that I've grown up with.

I miss high school and the amazing memories it holds. I miss Camp with my class, I miss spirit week and pep rallies, and I miss senior trip. I miss the amazing times that we had in some of our classes. I miss AP World and the constant joking around with our teacher (who was also our class advisor), I miss the complaining about AP World DBQs and Comparative Essays, and I miss Mr. Mac laughing at our expense on multiple occasions. I miss AP English and poking fun at each other every morning, I miss watching things like a Lego version of the Crime and Punishment scene where Raskolnikov murders Ivanovna, and I miss getting Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin' Donuts on some mornings when we decided to bring in food. I miss Anatomy and Physiology and the daily moments when we'd have breakdowns because we wouldn't be able to retain the information, I miss that moment when the basketball team came back from our tournament in New York and had to take a test on the bones of the body the day we got back (and I got almost all bones in the hands and feet).

I miss the athletics in high school and the fact that I was always able to be around my coach- he coached all 3 sports that I played at our school. I miss the amazing relationship that I had with my coaches and my teammates, and I miss the blending of my school's Christian values with athletics. I miss the multiple championships that we won in softball, and I'm really gonna miss putting on that uniform this spring- but I'll be putting on another one when March comes.

Even though I really miss high school and the amazing, unforgettable experiences that I had, I know that college is a new journey for me. I'm really missing the familiarity and the comfort of knowing something for 13 years, but I also know that the changes and the adjustments that I'm going through are all going to help me grow. I'm really missing my high school because they're like another family to me, but I'm beginning to get comfortable at college and I'm beginning to adjust to the life of a collegiate athlete. I just can't wait for the season to get here.