Dear High School,
Ever since I started college I have been thoroughly surprised with how college operates versus how high school operated. However, since high school is supposed to prepare you for college and the real world, you would think that high school would try to align better with the way that college works, because when I got here I was hit by a mac truck. Things are different here, but somehow everything works just fine. Who knew?
1. Shoulders, Shoulders Everywhere
Imagine my surprise walking into a college classroom and seeing shoulders uncovered all over the place. There were girls in spaghetti strap tank tops, and even some guys wearing tanks. Somehow even though I saw these uncovered body parts, I was still able to focus on my work, take notes, and understand what my professor was saying, and so was everyone else. I don't know how we did it or how we kept our attraction under control, but somehow we managed.
2. Covering My Bed Head And Still Paying Attention
Often, I wear a hat to class and some others partake in this too. I am able to wake up and not do my hair and head off to class and I'm still able to learn. The professors still teach and the kids still pay attention despite this utter disturbance of the class room.
3. Eating Cereal In Class
Would you believe that the other day during my college lecture I was able to eat cereal? Nothing was said to me, no one stared at me (at least, not really), and we were all able to act like adults about it. Sometimes people get hungry in class and they can pull stuff out of their book bag and eat it. What a difficult concept. In high school a lot of the times we weren't allowed to eat in class or if we did it had to be something "small". Meanwhile, in college I can have a bowl of cereal, a turkey leg, or a sandwich (or two) without anyone complaining.
4. A Happy Bladder
Like my hunger, I can't really control my bladder either. This one might have hit me the hardest. I almost cried real tears when I found that I could empty out my bladder whenever I pleased. If I have to go, I can just get up and walk out and come back.
5. No More Board Embarrassment
In high school I remember my teacher asking if anyone had the answer and wanted to come do a math problem on the board. You would think that if someone didn't raise their hand then that that meant they didn't know the answer and shouldn't be getting up in front of the class, right? Wrong. I can't begin to tell you how many times I was called on or told to go to the board when I had no idea what the answer was. Ever since I came to college no teacher has put me on the spot and I've been able to not know the answer in peace.
6. Cell Phone Policy
In college I haven't had anyone try to take my phone or anyone else's for that matter. I am held accountable for my grades and whether or not I pay attention or if I choose to be on my phone the whole time. Whereas in high school your phone can get taken because it fell out of your jacket pocket on accident.
7. No assigned parking
Instead of getting a parking spot in the back when I show up way earlier than everyone else like in high school, I make it pretty close to campus every day. In college there is this whole "first come first serve" thing going on with parking and while it may seem like a crazy idea, its fair, and its how life works.
8. My professor said, "I think it's complete bullshit."
College is uncensored. In high school there were so many rules about what we could say or what teachers could say or even controversy over what books are okay because there are a few cuss words. Its all pretty blunt here and I wasn't ready when my asked me "Where the hell is the trash can?"
9. It's HARD
College is hard and I had no idea it would be this way. My high school chemistry teacher let us write things that would be difficult to memorize like poly atomic ions on our period tablet to have on the test. When I got to college my chemistry professor assumed we already knew them. In high school we are given homework assignments that are glanced at, there are "open note tests", or you're allowed to write a bunch of things in size .2 font on an index card. College expects you to memorize things and actually put in the time and effort to know the material. I'm not saying high school should be college, but the difficulty levels are on two entirely different levels of the spectrum. This is also why many people think they can handle college, but get here to find that they can't or they struggle with adjusting.
10. Treated Like An Adult
One of the biggest reasons college is so much different from high school is we are treated like adults. We are responsible for showing up, and being on time. We are held 100% accountable for our actions and we make decisions for ourselves. In high school we are told that we are adults, we are too old to act in certain ways, and that we are about to go out into the real world. We're old enough to vote for the president of the united states at 18 but at 18 in a high school classroom we're not allowed to go to the bathroom when we need to.
