I'm not here to rant about high school being the "best four years" of my life or to bask in the glory days, no. My high school memories are wonderful-- I am proud to have been a member of the class that I graduated with-- but I am much more tremendously thankful for something else...

"I just can't with college, I was not ready for this," I peered across the table at a student whose hometown was not too far from my own. My attempt to hold a neutral expression may have been much more obvious than intended. My eyes shifted to those near us, and before I could read their faces another student added, "Oh my god, I know! It's so hard! My high school did not prepare me for this."

What?

Now I'm also not here to throw shade at those who believe college is difficult. Because it is. However, I could never say that I was unprepared for it. In fact, in many ways I believe that high school was much more challenging. High school provided me with a better foundation for my professional life than I could have hoped for.

Most college-level courses require rigorous studying and effort. Of course. But so did my high school classes. We were forewarned about the gap that can exist between high school and college courses, but I would be shocked if most kids from my class didn't have a smooth transition.

It can be tough... I know some who juggle full-time jobs with schooling among other responsibilities. We are training ourselves to be full-time, hard-working adults. The term "all-nighter" wouldn't exist without reason. To be honest, though, I had my fair share of all-nighters in high school, and I can't say that I do anymore.

My high school schedule, much like others, began at nearly the crack of dawn. During one year in particular, I woke up at 5:30 each morning to catch one of four buses just to take a gym class. Remember how daylight savings would happen, and mornings at the bus stop wouldn't be so dark anymore? That never happened. You can bet that my license eventually saved me a good thirty minutes of sleep, and it was glorious. Still, the rest of the school was dazzled at 8:00 by an overly sweaty welcoming committee (while we finished our mile runs).

After an entire day of back-to-back classes, most of us who wanted to have appealing college resumes involved ourselves in after school activities and our first jobs. A lot of times both. By the time we returned home at night, all-nighters (or "long-nighters") were almost guaranteed.

I guess the difference with college is that we have the power to arrange and manage our own schedules. Time management is key. And without such a demanding high school atmosphere, I'm not sure that I would have had the same college experience.

Thank you for those challenging classes. Thank you for the heavy workload. Thank you for each and every jam-packed day. Each was bursting at the seams with lessons about responsibility.

Thank you. Thank you. A hundred times, thank you.

xx.

-s