This year I've learned a lot on Descartes and Buddhism and how to do some form of math (Okay, maybe I didn't learn that much math), however, I've also learned a lot about myself and the people I surround myself with. College has provided me with an incredible opportunity to go from a red faced, anxious mess to someone that can procrastinate like a pro and still achieve an exceptional GPA. If you're in college you'll understand, and if its almost your time, then here's what you have to look forward to.
There will always be drama, you just get better at handling it
Like in High School, there will always be people looking to stir the pot and create a little "spice" in their life. However, in college, it is often unnecessary to participate in the drama. While balancing all other aspects of your life, you have less and less time for the excess noise but even if you do have to deal with it, it causes less of a wave. In college, drama is no longer the defining factor of your day because you'll always have other outlets to avoid the fuss.
Freedom is great, but sometimes you still need your parents
The first few weeks of school I went a little crazy with all the freedom I never had at home. I started to think that I was actually a self-sufficient grown adult living on her own. However, as time passed, I realized that along with the fact that my parents are helping pay for my college, I also still very much emotionally depend on them. After a tough week, test, or day, nothing quite makes things better than a phone call with Mom and Dad. Plus, who else can you vent to without worrying about backstabbing?! Mother knows best, as they say.
Talking to boys isn't that hard
Well, sometimes it still is. However, when you're living communally with half of your neighbors as boys, it grows difficult to avoid the interactions. Over time, it no longer becomes a face-reddening experience and might even become *gasp* natural. Still haven't found my husband, but at least I now know that when I meet him I'll actually be able to strike up a conversation.
You get by with a little help from your friends
I would be nowhere without my friends now. They've held me while I cried, made my laugh without mercy, and rallied me on Friday nights when my head is pounding with a migraine. In High School, you're often friends with people by default. If you've known someone since you were babies, why would you not be friends (even if you have nothing in common)? However, in college, you have the freedom to choose the people that you surround yourself with, and it makes all the difference. This does not discredit friends from home because nobody will ever replace the best friends already made, yet there's always room for more.
Making connections is key and it's never embarrassing to ask for help
In college, you cannot underestimate the help a Professor can be. Being in a class where you have no clue whats going on (and believe me, it happens), there really is no other way to succeed than to ask them for help. Don't forget that that is literally the job of the Professor, to teach you and make sure you succeed. Along with helping you to success in the class itself, making connections with a Professor in your major will be forever beneficial as in the long run they might be able to help you land your first job. No connection is a bad connection.
Explore while you can because you won't have this much free time forever
No matter where you go to school, there will always be places to explore, so go out and explore them! You will never have more time than you do now to be selfish and do things for yourself. Take advantage of the fact that you don't have to support yourself on your own, and make a bucket list of things to achieve. Your memories will thank you for it.
Don't waste time doing things you don't love (and excel in the things you do)
Now is the time to realize your passions and act on them. In High School, I found that I was only doing things because they were what I was used to. Then, when I got to school, I realized that writing was my passion and I started a blog. Find that one thing that makes you get up in the morning, and do it! Also, cut out all the excess noise. The point of picking a major in college is to do what you enjoy for the rest of your life. Try not to be driven by money or the pressures of your parents, but by what you have a passion for.
Other people's opinions of you are actually irrelevant
This one is a little more difficult to embrace, but once you do, your life will be so much better for it. You are a strong, independent human with the ability to make choices and decisions that you must stick with. Some will be good and some will be bad, but it is important to feel confident in what you have done and not be swayed by what others think of your actions. 10 years from now will it really matter that the boy upstairs thinks your writing is weird? Or that you go out too much or laugh too loud? The answer is no. 10 years from now, the only thing you will really remember is how you felt about those things. Keep that in mind and make yourself proud. Once that happens, everyone else will follow.
There is so much more to life outside of High School
Believe it or not, there is so much more to experience than just 4 classes a day in a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone. College is the time to break free of the molds you became stuck in in High School, and find a new way to define yourself. Your life is not based on the test you failed in High School or the boy that didn't ask you to prom. Your life is defined by what you do after the trivial things that help you to grow. High School isn't irrelevant, it is actually quite beneficial in building a base of who you are. However, it is after that that life starts to get good.
