Some people say high school is the best four years of your life, and others say college is. Either way, a large amount of pressure is put on eight years of our lives. Naturally, this makes students a little bit stressed - we have to make these the best years all while maintaining decent grades. Going into high school is exciting. Even though you are the small fish in a big pond, you're a high schooler. You're finally "cool." There are new rules: chewing gum in class and having your phone on you rather than in your backpack! At first it seems like so much fun. The football games, spirit week, new dress code, more freedom - it's wonderful! It seems obvious that these can be the best years of your life. But if you're anything like me, they weren't.
My high school years are over, and if those were the best years of my life, I have some dreadful years ahead of me. I've only been in college for a little over a month now, but it's so much better than high school. So for all of you high schoolers who aren't having the best four years of your life, don't give up yet!
In high school, you sit through seven hours of school, attend extra curricular activities, sports, or work, then you go home finally and have a few hours of homework. In between all of these you need time for family, personal hygiene, sleeping and eating! There seems to never be enough hours in the day. Teachers tell you exactly when you need to do things and they basically time manage for you.
Don't get me wrong, this is convenient for some people. For me, it wasn't so helpful because I am very independent. I like working at my own pace, doing my own thing, reading things that interest me, and managing my own time. All of which aren't really options in high schools, or at least the high school I attended.
College is so different on so many levels. First off, the biggest factor is time management. Very cliché, but very true. The free time you have can be dangerous if you don't plan accordingly. I am at the point where if I am at the gym I feel guilty because I could be doing homework or studying for something (I still haven't mastered the whole time management thing yet.) In high school, they never could truly teach time management since our school day is structured.
I enjoy the freedom that college has to offer. I like being in charge of when to do my homework, when I should go to the gym, and when I should give myself a break. In college, it is all up to you. There are resources to help you of course, but everything is flexible and you can manipulate your time how ever you please.
Another plus about college is that your professors are the ones that are going to make your dreams reality, so they seem to be a lot more passionate and caring about you and your concerns. I go to a small school, so this is certainly an advantage for me. Your professors want to see you succeed.
In high school, if I went up to a teacher and asked something off the topic we were on, but related to the course, he or she would say, "We will get to that later," "Stop jumping the gun," or "We don't learn that in this class." In college, your professor will list off 10 different books in the library on it, email six different people who have information on it or research it for you and talk to you about it.
If I had a question about the material in a class in high school and I asked my teacher about it, most of the time the answer would be, "did you do the reading?" or "figure it out, ask a classmate." In college, professors are all over helping you and clarifying things for you. They truly want to see you succeed, or at least the ones I have do.
College gives you so much more freedom. Although the workload almost triples from high school, the flexibility in college is relieving. You have a voice in college. You are treated like an adult. After the high school experience I had, it was challenging to look forward to going to at least four more years of school, but after knowing what college is like I look forward to what the future will bring me. So for all you high schoolers who are not having the best four years of your life, hang in there! If you do chose to go to college, I hope you have the same experience as I am and can make it the best four years of your life.
