When I graduated high school, I felt numb to everything that was happening around me. Everyone else seemed to be eager and excited to dive headfirst into the next great adventure, but for some reason, I was more hesitant to take that running leap into the great unknown.
Now don't be mistaken — I hated high school. But I was petrified of what was coming next. I had become incredibly comfortable where I was and wasn't ready to be thrown out of my comfort zone and into the boxing ring of adult life.
My first of year of college was pretty miserable because of that attitude. I didn't have high achievement standards for myself, I went out of my way to avoid making friends and connections, and I didn't take advantage of the plethora of opportunities college presented to me. I thought to myself that I already had the friends I needed, I knew the minimum I had to work to pass my classes, and that any extracurriculars would just take up my Netflix time.
Needless to say, I was incredibly alone and unmotivated that first year. Luckily, I was able to recognize that I wasn't growing in the environment I was in and decided to transfer to a school where I've really started to come into my own.
The greatest lesson I learned during that first tumultuous year of college is that you simply cannot stay comfortable. College is the time to break down every barrier of your comfort zone and hope that when you jump blindly off the edge of it, you'll land on your feet. If you stay comfortable — if you stay in that same dispassionate headspace you have in high school — you'll never grow into the student and human you're capable of being.
It doesn't matter if you already have a solid group of friends; make more. You'll need them. Take classes that interest you, not ones that sound easy (there are literally HUNDREDS of courses you've probably never heard of out there). Join clubs and organizations, even if it's for something totally random. And for my fellow introverts who don't like talking to people face to face, many universities have online communities (such as Odyssey) where you can connect with people like you. So, there are really no excuses. College is going to present you with countless opportunities, and all you need to do is have the courage to take them.
Change is always scary, but it's also inevitable. The fact is, high school is nothing like how the rest of your life will be. The comfort of knowing what to expect every day is nice, but if life doesn't challenge you then you aren't living to your greatest potential. So leave the past in the past and embrace all the changes that will be heading your way in the next few months with open arms. And if you're terrified of what's coming next, just know you aren't alone.