Coming to college, I expected it to be harder than high school for sure, but not this hard. High school was easy, and the only real stress was if you had enough change to make a dollar for a bag of cookies in the student store during break. Classes were ones that you could easily glide through, and most of the teachers handed out extra credit here and there.

SIx or seven classes a day were not bad when all your teachers knew each other and made sure if one class had a huge paper due soon that they would put theirs off a little more. Those were the days when you didn't have a to-do list for one day as long as your monthly to-do list in high school. I will say that high school really didn't prepare me much for what college had to bring. In high school I used to be in bed before ten and up at the crack of dawn, but no stress really occurred. I had classes that I really got to teach myself, though while still being productive. I would paint posters, do some simple math, and learned the bones of my body; instead, now I'm learning the law of business, and management information systems which I didn't even know existed before this semester, and doing math problems that you just do but really have no idea what you're actually doing.

We get thrown into, after one summer, something that high school really didn't prepare us for, all with the hope to get out in four years. We try to balance a social life, academics, working out and extra-curriculars all at the same time in college, which was a piece of cake in high school. When you could BS many papers and still get a good grade, when your math homework took maybe at an hour to do and you actually remember and can pronounce you teachers' names.

Oh, how times have changed. Even though college is rough, and if we are talking about this semester it's terrible, but I wouldn't change going to college and being put through this tough mess for anything. I have met some of my best friends that will be by my side on my wedding day. Those things that people say before going to college, as my brother did to me the day before I left for my freshman year, are true, though I didn't really believe him until it happened. The sporting events that make getting through the week of hard classes so worth it. Exploring a new city that is much smaller than yours back home where when you're bored at night you go run around the Walmart and try on every animal themed "onezie" pajamas... only Pullman things really! A constant reminder is needed that this is truly a test of life, how you can do on your own and find a name for yourself.

I am still the same person I was in high school, though I am also different in the same way. I realized that all the little things that we worried about in high school really don't matter. I will proudly wear "gray suit" out in public and not feel one bit ashamed of myself. I will laugh really loud on the sidewalk with my friends and not care who is listening.... oh wait I did that in high school! Basically, I am more me!

So to the high school kids, life gets harder, classes get way more difficult, and some high school friends don't last forever. Though overall don't be scared, college is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn more about yourself, and honestly as tough as it might get you truly do learn more about yourself and become more comfortable in your own skin!