About a year and a half ago, I arrived at Becker College for my first day of school. While I kept a level head in the weeks leading up to it, I was still fairly nervous about leaving home and living on my own. I was leaving behind everything I was familiar with and starting off a new part of my life; and though I didn’t leave too far away, I am still a few hours away from home. I knew my time in college would be very different from my days in high school, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had no idea what my classes, professors, or friends would be like or if they’d be anything like before. Nowadays, I have a good understanding of how different college is from high school; but, it is still fun to think about the many differences there are.
One of the biggest differences between high school and college is the scheduling. In high school, I was stuck with whatever schedule I was given. I went through the same classes every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There was rarely ever any change and the whole thing became repetitive after the first week of school. In college, I create my own schedule every semester; I get to choose what classes I take, what time I take them, and whether or not I want to give myself an extra day to my weekend. Making my schedule helps keep the weeks from getting too repetitive since I usually only have a class once or twice each week. My days are usually over by around noon and most of the time I only have one class a day. With this new style of scheduling, I don’t burn out as fast and can keep my energy up longer.
Another difference I have noticed between high school and college is the power I have over myself. In high school, I always had my parents making sure I was on track and doing all of my work. They made sure I was in class on time, had all of my work done, and studied for all my exams. While I did end up doing most of those things before they had to ask me to, it was my parents who kept me on the right path in school. In college, I am much more independent when it comes to my class work. My parents aren’t here to tell me what I should be doing so it's up to me to decide what to prioritize. Should I get started on my next paper or should I spend a few more hours watching cats on the internet? Should I go to bed at a reasonable time or should I order pizza after midnight so I have a snack while I watch more cats on the internet? I may not always make the right choice, but I am still able to get all my work done when I need it done. And while I still do everything I do to make my parents proud, I can now do it at my own pace.
How I spend my free time has also changed from when I was in high school. When school was over, I’d generally spend the next few hours at home finishing up any homework I was assigned. By the time I was done, there would only be a few hours left in the day. I would usually spend these few hours playing video games in my room. Weekends were used to spend time with my family. College has changed how I spend the time I have. Instead of playing video games in my room, I play video games in my school’s computer labs. That may not sound too different, and it mostly isn’t; but, the biggest change is that in the computer labs I spend time with whichever of my friends happens to be there too. Rather than play alone, I have people to talk to while we hang out and play games together. It’s much more fun and convenient than it was before.
High school and college are very different from each other. In college, I have to be independent, I have to be responsible with my decisions, and I have to remember that I still need to report to my parents every now and then. It’s a learning experience in more ways than one and I am still learning new things each day.
