I woke up for my last first day of high school. Senior year, a year of lasts, the year I was captain of my teams, the year I finally had my “senior rights” and “senior privileges.” I was counting down, “180 school days until graduation!” I was among the top students in my class, I had my core group of friends that I had known for years now. We finally ruled the school! I was as excited as I could be.

Then I blinked.

Next thing I knew, I was a college freshman, and this is what people call, “the real world.” I never understood how serious people were when they said college is so much different than high school. College was not a “warm welcome” into the real world, it was more of a punch in the gut or a slap to wake up, telling me to get myself together and figure out my future.

Upon entering college, I learned very fast that it is so much different than anything I had ever known before, academically and socially. I found that my years of A’s and B’s coming to me naturally were over. I learned that my high school accomplishments meant absolutely nothing to anyone here. It did not matter that I was an honor roll student, it did not matter that I was in National Honors Society, and it did not matter that I was captain of my team. I was just another face in the crowd. No one knew me, and I didn’t know anyone either. Walking into my first class knowing no one was terrifying. I did not have my best friends to run in and sit next to. It was not a teacher I had before that knew me and my interests. I didn’t have only 3 minutes to get to my next class, and even scariest of all, I was the only one responsible for myself.

Being responsible for myself was a scary thought. I could skip class whenever I desired, but there would be no teacher tracking me down the next day to teach me what I missed. I found being in charge of my own attendance is a struggle. There are temptations to skip class because there are no direct and immediate consequences such as detention. However, there most certainly are indirect consequences such as losing focus of what's going on in class and missing an entire lecture and having no idea what is going on in the next one I go.

In college, I quickly learned that professors really don’t care whether you are in class or not. They do not care if you get up in the middle of a lecture and walk out. No one will call you out for being on your phone. They really do not care what you do, because they get paid regardless and they are not responsible for your failure. In high school, teachers would call someone out for any of these things. If you were struggling, teachers would reach out to you. College is totally different. If you do not reach out to your professor, they may not even notice that you are struggling to pass. You are one of their hundreds of students. The professor may not even take the time to put a face to your name and vice versa.

Socially, I learned that your popularity status from high school is totally irrelevant as well. You could have a conversation with someone in your class every day for a week and not even learn their name. I see new faces in some of my classes every day. People have no idea who you are as you pass through the quad of the school. Also, you learn in college that no one cares. You could dress as nice as want, or you could wear sweatpants every day. In college, clothes do not define you. Neither does your hair, your ethnicity, your sport, et cetera. Not a single person will judge you based on what your appearance is.

Also, I quickly learned that people are friendlier than I ever thought. College changed my view to a more optimistic perspective when it came to making friends. Sticking with the same few friends in high school, I thought it would be hard not going to the same college as most of them. However, most other students are in the same position. They walk into class not knowing a single face either. It all starts with a simple, “hello,” and conversations flow from there.

I used to get sick of hearing people say, “when you get into the real world…” Now, I realize how wrong I was about thinking high school was included in the “real world.” The real world means becoming an adult. The real world is all about being responsible for yourself and your own actions, whether you're ready for it or not.

As Blink-182 said in their song "Dammit," "I guess this is growing up."