I've been in your shoes before. The anticipation for college is building, and the countdown till you get to leave your house has started. It feels like the day you get to be on your own just can't come soon enough. But honestly, the day it finally does come- you'll wish you had this time back.
Sure college comes with freedom from your parents, time away from your sometimes annoying siblings, and the chance to make new friends. But the things you take for granted now will be the things you miss most in college.
You won't get the chance after a long, hard day to hug your mom or dad and get the reassurance you need. Instead you get a long distance phone called, which really never feels the same. The constant nagging from your parents to do better with be something you start to miss when you two weeks away from finals, wishing someone had told you to stay on top of your grades sooner. And don't even get me started on the home cooked meals you'll start to crave after the appeal of dorm food wears off quickly.
It's the little things that will get you the most. Like never running out of clean clothes or coming home to bed made with freshly cleaned sheets. Your parents do a lot for you that we don't always realize but when you go to college you see how much it is they really go.
Even your siblings, who you might have previously argued with every day over the dumbest things, become something you miss. Suddenly the fact your sister stole your shirt doesn't seem like such a big deal when it's been a few months and you don't even remember the last thing you saw her wear. The reoccurring fight over the front seat won't ever matter anymore because you don't get to go places together anymore.
There's only so much time left to make late night food runs together or stay home and watch movies with your family. Believe me when I say it, those are the moments you'll wish you had the most.
And almost above all, these are the last times you'll have get to see your best friends every single day. More than likely, you'll all go you separate ways and nothing really is quite like it was in high school.
Getting to sit at lunch together and laugh about your weekends or make plans for the next is a moment you won't get to relive. There's not gonna be another time that you spot your best friend from across the hall and laugh just thinking about all the dumb stuff they've done.
The usual weekend plans with your OG squad won't get to be as frequent and in college you'll have to settle for reunions on school breaks and short lived weekend visits. (Which honestly, really suck because it's never enough time together.)
Classes will never be the same because the teachers who have known you the past 4 years won't be there to get you through the year. Or cut you slack because they known you've going through a tough time. The relationships with your high school teachers are special because they've seen you through some of the biggest highs and lows of your life so far.
In college, there's a chance you may just be another face in a lecture hall. So the next time your teacher asks you how you're doing, be honest because those are the people who really care.
There's a million things I wish I could do over in high school and so many moments I wish I would have cherished more. But you have a chance to hold onto those last days remaining and make the best of it. High school only comes around once and it's a whole lot harder to get $20 from your parents in college.
