Most people, at least me, seemed to think high school was the hardest and most boring experience in their life. College has that excitement of making a bunch of friends from everywhere across the world, choosing your classes to take on your own time, and generally just having a lot more freedom.

However, with that freedom and fun comes a lot of responsibility. College is a fun time, but can be extremely stressful and challenging for each individual in different ways.

College is all about balancing the work and the fun. I asked 10 college students what they love most about college.

1. “Being away from my parents. I love the freedom. I can drink all night, party until I black out, just do whatever. Of course, I miss my parents a lot but sometimes it’s nice to not have to follow a curfew and rules.”

2. “I love meeting so many more people who are way less drama than my high school friends. If I don’t like my current friends, I can just make more because college is super big. People just approach random people all the time and it helps keep you super social.”

3. “Exploring a new side of me. I can totally be a different person because I’m so far away from home. I love exploring my style and different kinds of looks.”

4. “Parties. What more can I say?”

5. “I love how you can create your schedule by yourself. You can take classes at whatever times are most convenient for you. It’s not an 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. situation. You don’t even have to go to some classes where the teacher posts everything online. It’s so much nicer than high school.”

6. “The opportunities. There are so many clubs and great people where you can get as involved as possible. But you really have to make sure you manage your time well and organize your other activities and classes to do well.”

7. “The nightlife. I can message a group of friends at 11 p.m. asking to hang out or just knock on their doors and we’ll just go out and get wasted or just chill.”

8. “How close everyone is. All my friends live within a two-minute walking distance of me. We can stay up all night talking or watching movies, having girls’ nights, and just having a really fun time without anyone telling us what to do.”

9. “I love how most professors are so chill and try to be our friends. I remember going to office hours for one of my professors and we just had a really entertaining, long talk about our lives and even gossiped a bit. That’s something I would never imagine from my high school teachers. And I love how so many of them end class early or just cancel class on random days.”

10. “I love Greek life. Joining a frat was the best decision I made. So many more friends and connections and the parties are great. Definitely helping my college experience.”