If I had to choose one phrase to completely loathe, it would be this: "Cherish high school while you can. You're going to miss it when it's over."

I have heard that phrase more times than I can count, and I have had to refrain from rolling my eyes just about every time. I may love memories from the past, but don't get it twisted; I want to push forward to the future as much as the next person. Now don't get me wrong, I love the people I knew in high school, and I will cherish them forever. However, I have found college to be a far more superior learning environment in these past few weeks than high school gave me in four whole years.

For starters, in college, I have a sense of freedom that allows me to breathe easier, which is something my high school never gave me. I can finally learn about what I'm actually interested in. Now that I can finally explore different aspects of writing, my mind is also being broadened like never before. In high school, people respected my writing abilities, but they hated it so much that it seemed a bit ridiculous to me. I feel free to pursue writing now that I can be surrounded by other students who love it as much as I do.

Another part that I love is the unique schedules I get to create. My least favorite part of high school was having to wake up at the crack of dawn just to get to my first class on time. I almost feel spoiled that I can actually sleep past the hours of six and seven AM every day without being a minute late for any of my classes. Plus, I have a good chunk of time for studying and hanging out with friends in equal proportion. In high school, the days seemed to drag along, and people almost felt like they were locked up in the same prison week after week.

The best part about the general college setting is the open-mindedness. There are no specific cliques of Brains, Athletes, Princesses, Criminals, or Basket Cases. There are simply unique individuals who can be as many of each category as they please. Judgments aren't as harshly placed for liking something that is easily construed as weird. In college, if someone is into something different, it is merely noted as another attribute of their personality.

College is not perfect by any means; there are stressful moments one minute and the best times of a person's life the next. Just know that college can be the best if you put your best efforts into it, and remember that graduating high school is not the end all be all of existence. There is a huge world out there to explore, and college just helps you find exactly what you want to find for yourself.