You hear from others about how your life changes once you leave for college, but it's hard to grasp the reality of it until you experience it for yourself.
1. You will develop a stronger love for your hometown.
Being home for the first time after leaving will feel like one big deja vu. There are so many places that you grew up around for the last eighteen years and you are seeing it all for the first time in a long time. No matter how far you go, you will always get excited when you meet someone that grew up close to you even if it's hours away in the same state. You begin to appreciate the little things that you took for granted in your hometown and it will always be close to your heart no matter where you end up.
2. You find out which high school friends are true to you.
As people start their own adventures, the ones that truly care about will continue to reach out to you and ask about how you're doing. But at the same time, the people that you think about and go to with news or just to chat are the ones that will stay by you forever. Although life will never feel the same with those friends when you are reunited, you know that they will always do anything for you and you'll be there for them.
3. Your dog will miss you just as much as you miss him/her.
No matter how long you're away at college, your dog will never forget you. They have an incredible memory and so much joy to give you when they see your face again. As wonderful as it is to see them, leaving them to go back to school is almost as hard as it was the first time.
4. Grades do not matter as much as you think.
Coming from a student who would do anything to get an A in a class in high school, it was hard at first to accept the reality that the best you can possibly do might not be what you want. College classes are hard and even a failing grade on an exam might not turn out as bad in the end as you think. You're paying tuition now to learn as much as you can from the professors and while a GPA is one part of getting a job, it will be impossible to advance in the job if you didn't learn enough and only did the work to get the grade.
5. The friends you make in college will show the kind of person you want to be like.
Like going back to kindergarten, there is so many people to meet that it seems impossible at the time to find new close friends. But somehow, you get to know people that make you happy to be around and will do anything for you. As college is your beginning of adulthood, these people will be the ones you want to share your new experiences with and who will influence your decisions. When you find the right people, you know they will be close to you for the rest of your life.
6. Your family is always going to be your best support system.
They have, in fact, been with you from the beginning. They believe that you can achieve great things even at the points when you feel like a failure. Calling them always makes you feel relaxed and loved regardless of how stressed or disappointed you might be feeling. When you see them as you are coming home for breaks, their hugs will always be waiting for you.
7. As great as it is to move on and begin a new chapter of your life, you start to realize that nothing that happened in high school can ever be the same.
No matter how many times you visit a place, nothing will ever be the same. All your high school sports, work places, and everything else all moves on without you. There are new people that took your place and new experiences that are happening before your eyes. The key thing to remember is that you had your time to experience all that they currently are and the memories you made will stick with you forever. Now it's your turn to hand over the baton to the next group of high schoolers to make their memories as you continue on your new adventure.
