College is both a great and scary time in life. For me, I'm halfway through, which means that sooner rather than later I will be out in the real world. Now that I'm a junior, I hear daily how important it is to begin to build my portfolio and start making connections. Because of this, I have recently begun to reflect on all that I experienced and learned during my time in higher education until this point.
The first thing that I learned is I have no idea how to be an adult. I find that this is similar to most people my age. College is basically a large gathering of adults who have no idea on how to act as an adult. It's like adult babysitting. I can honestly say I have no idea what a mortgage really is and tax season is slowly becoming equivalent to finals week. In my experience of being an adult, I can say that it is one of the hardest thing you will ever experience. At least I don't have to deal with children yet!
I've also learned that people will change completely. In high school, you truly believe that you know yourself 100 percent inside and out, but once you graduate, this often times is no longer true. You change. Personally, I learned to be myself instead of putting up a front in order to be accepted by others. I also did things that I would never have done before. I took classes that I thought I would hate, only to learn that I love them and gained new interests. You begin to learn more about yourself.
The hardest lesson I learned is that you will lose friends. Before my freshman year I was told that my friends from high school most likely will no longer remain my friends. But like most 18- to 19-year-olds, I thought that I would be the exception. Sadly, there are few exceptions. In the beginning, I tried to remain in contact with the kids I spent every day with for four years. Eventually, you all become preoccupied, make new friends and move away. I might talk to them occasionally, but we have all changed and no longer know each other like we once had. I can honestly say that this is one of the hardest realities I have ever had to face, but eventually you get over it and move on.
Another thing I learned is that I hate Minnesota. I may not know 100 percent what I want to do in the future or where I want to be, but I can confidently say that I don't want to spend the remainder of my life in the Midwest. This may not apply to every college student, the need to move far away, but then again, not everyone has to deal with Minnesota winters. Also, this is the only thing about my future I am fully confident in, so you have to give me something to look forward to.
Finally, I learned that my family is the most important thing in my life. They say that absence make the heart grow fonder and it is completely true. Before going to college, I was completely content with only seeing my family every few months. After about a week I learned that this is definitely not true. Three years later and I still call my mom at least twice a week.
I'm officially halfway through college, which means that I have another two years to fully figure everything out, but I often wish I had know these things before. At least I learned all of these things before it was too late, and hopefully I can teach them to someone else.
