There comes a time in every college freshman’s life when they step back and realize “Oh man, I’m really not in high school anymore." For me, this moment came incredibly early, and that probably had a lot to do with where I went to high school: a tiny, private, all-girls Catholic school. So my first week went something like, “Hello naive, sheltered girl. Meet the real world." Of course, I knew that college was going to be different, but “different” didn’t cover the half of it. So, as one can imagine, my first couple of weeks in the “real world” has been a series of uncomfortable events.

Upon arrival at school, my main worries rested with what a college freshman should worry about: finding friends, getting good grades and other important things of the like. However, something I didn’t give nearly enough thought to was dressing for class. Last year, it took me a minute flat to get dressed. I simply would throw on a polo, plaid skirt, and my banged up pair of six-year-old Nike “Shocks." Nowadays, I shudder to think of the reaction my beloved middle school Nike’s would illicit among my peers. The Vine catch phrase “WHAT ARE THOSE?” comes to mind. Even worse, however, was learning to get up just a little earlier in the morning to do my hair and possibly, though rarely, do my makeup. My school appearance went from zero to presentable real quick.

A bigger shock, however, is how different it is having guys constantly around. Before, my guy friends and I would see each other on the weekends and then return to our respective single-sex schools come Monday morning. Now, horror of horrors, they’re everywhere. Gone are the days when I could lean over to my neighbor in class and ask to borrow Midol or walk down school hallways and hear a frantic discussion about the fate of One Direction (or whichever heartthrobs stirred up the drama that week). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a man-hater, but there is certainly no arguing with me when I say I’m a “girls’ girl” at heart. On more than one occasion, I've encountered a guy in my dorm on the way back from a shower, clad in only a towel. And every time, I've managed to say something charming like, "Now I'm clean, haha," while slowly dying of embarrassment on the inside.

Finally, the biggest difference I’ve found is the sheer size of a university compared to my graduating class of 69 people. I go to a small to medium-sized college, and yet, I feel swallowed up in my classes of only 40 people. I’ve gone from knowing the names of everyone in my classes' family (including pets) to not recognizing anyone in the dining hall -- culture shock at its finest.

After reading all of these differences, it might seem like I hate college. Do not be fooled; it is quite the contrary. While, yes, my school life is incredibly different now than it has been for the past several years, everything that has changed has changed me for the better. I wouldn’t trade the lessons I’ve learned in the past few weeks for all of the comforts of home. For instance, while I sometimes yearn for the comfort of my beloved Nike Shocks, having to dress as a semi-functioning member of society was a skill I desperately needed to learn. Even the new people and overwhelming size of school, while terrifying at times, has been nothing but good for me. The diversity in college alone has opened my eyes to countless new points of view. Even though everything about my life now seems new and foreign, there's always ways to find your place in a strange new environments. For me, that was

rushing, to get back some sense of that sisterhood I had in high school. But everyone is different. So, my advice to any future alums of all-girls schools is this: don’t stress, you’ll do great. Just stay away from any middle school-era footwear and brush your hair every now and then.