As we approach another school year, high school students scramble to finish any summer homework they may have. They exchange schedules with their friends to see if they will know anyone in their classes, noting what classes are going to be grueling for them. They spend a few dollars buying pencils, binders and notebooks. Many of them either quit their summer jobs or switch over to school year hours. They are going to miss summer immensely because of all of the fun adventures they had with their friends, and, for many, this is the last real opportunity to spend quality time with them before everyone goes into the real world.

As we approach another school year, college students dread the thought of all of the work they are going to have to do. They made their schedules alongside their friends to make sure that some of them have the same classes together, allowing them to have very few classes where they do not know anyone. They drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on textbooks alone, not considering everything that they may need for their classes and in their dorm. Many of them quit their summer jobs and search frantically for one close to campus that can work with their already busy schedule. Although relaxing in the summer is nice, they miss their friends that live far away and having a set routine to ensure that they don’t sleep until noon every day.

I know when I began my first year of college, I was not expecting, well, anything. I took a deep sigh as I paid for my first set of textbooks with the money I had earned by working over the summer. I said goodbye to my high school friends as they moved halfway across the country for the first time. I made many short-term friends during orientation week, knowing that many of them will not last until graduation.

I know high school teachers say that they are preparing us for college. True, they teach us basic things that we will need as adults. Unfortunately, as hard as they may try, there is no way for us to be prepared to leave our friends and families and begin a whole new life.

With that being said, the anticipation to start a new semester of college is greater than that of high school.

Yes, you leave your parents, siblings, high school friends, and pets. Yes, you pay an absurd amount of money for books. Yes, the stress that comes with the school work in college is exponentially greater than it was in high school. Yes, you have to get used to a whole new routine where you are the motivation behind your own success.

And yes, it is more fun to go to college.

You learn to really depend on your friends for support and motivation. You love to get food with them and take breaks from studying that “accidentally” last the rest of the day. The freedom that comes with college is a nice breath of fresh air, and the excitement of creating your own schedule is comforting.

It seems backwards, yet I look forward to starting classes in college, getting into a routine, and starting something new.

If you’re in high school just starting a new school year and stressing out about the amount of work that you’re going to have, I’m sorry that it doesn’t get better. However, I promise that waiting for college is more exciting than any other wait you’ve ever had before.