The differences between high school freshmen and college freshmen can be few to extreme differences. As a junior at the University of Central Florida, I have seen classes grow and change through the years. Growing up can be awkward and difficult to say the least, so from your freshman year of highschool and to your freshman year of college a lot can change or rearrange your understanding of everything around you.
Of course when you enter high school you may have physically changed and grown into a more adult body. From there all new experiences await, but the best part is the new level of schooling you may have encountered. High school is basically the training wheels into the real world that you have to endure to know what you want to do with yourself when you have to grow up. Some people can do the accelerated courses while most don't and go with the more general approach to the tackling high school. Neither are wrong rather they set you up to choose between more schooling or hard work in an immediate job after graduation. Then looking at those who choose college the experience of being independent and growing as a person culturally and politically.
Independence is given to you as you grow older and progress through life. By the time you get to college or university you are completely on your own. Most of us get a job while studying or start becoming more involved in their career path, which can be terrifying at first. This is one thing that definitely separates high school freshmen to college freshmen it is the moment you have to find a path in life that fits you. It is not unusual for high school freshmen to think they know what they want to be and for it to change many times before they actually figure it out in college. Then even in college it may change 10 more times before you finally find the right fit. If you settle it will make you unhappy in the future and it is a huge pressure that isn't truly realized for high school freshman like it is for college freshmen.
The best part of being a freshman at any point of time or era is the fact you all experiencing similar situations meaning you can fall upon one another for support and reassurance. Knowing you are not alone really helps with the transitions into high school and college. So like a flock of synchronized flamingos you and the rest of the freshman class are look alive. You never know what is around the corner and what opportunity lies ahead when you are still learning.
