It's early April, spring has sprung and the end of the school year is near. A lot of you readers are most likely in college currently or will be soon. As a freshman at Northern Illinois University this year, this was the first time I have ever been away from home. After attending multiple open houses and orientations, I had a fairly good idea of what college would be like. However, after being here for a while, I soon realized that there were a few things that those orientation leaders and tour guides left out. So, here's what they don't tell you about college:

College classes are hard. Personally, I don't think that my high school courses were enough to prepare me for college level classes. Having said that, I'm not taking anything away from my teachers; they were great, but that isn't the point. The point is that there's nobody there to baby you through the semester. Sure, there are teacher's assistants and tutors, but they aren't as concerned about your success as your favorite teacher or your parents. You have to stay on top of all of your assignments for each class, and sometimes that isn't enough.

The food in the dining halls isn't really as good as you think it is. Oh, you're on the unlimited meal plan? Well, in a couple months those chicken tenders won't be good at all. That pepperoni pizza you eat every day will get old after Thanksgiving break. Sometimes, your best option is a salad, some Jell-O and a glass of lemonade. After awhile, no food sounds better than cafeteria food.

Physically moving away from your parents is really tough, on both you and them. I still remember move-in day like it was yesterday. When my parents were ready to head back home, there was some awkward silence because the three of us knew that I was finally growing up and ready to start the next chapter of my life. Of course, I have a great roommate, and that made it easier to adjust to living away from home. However, my bed at school isn't anywhere comparable to my bed at home. Also, referring back to the previous paragraph, dining hall food is impossible to compare to mom's home cooking. It's inevitable you're going to miss your parents. So make sure you call home each week because they miss you too.

There's going to be at least one class where you struggle, whether it's a little bit or a lot. Freshman year is all about getting your general education credits out of the way. That being said, you're bound to have one class that you don't like because of the material, the professor, the time of the week, whatever it may be. For me, it was a history class. To be completely honest, I barely passed it. Even though these classes are only for the credits, they still matter. I wasn't prepared for that level of responsibility because I was used to having someone there looking over my shoulder about my grades. All it takes is some motivation and effort, and you'll do just fine in all of your classes.

I can't stress this next sentence enough: If you think you can take an 8 a.m. class because you did it every day of your high school career, you're wrong. I don't care if you're a morning person or not, in college, 8 a.m. comes faster than any time on the clock. Even 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. classes are tough to wake up for. Having an early morning class will automatically put you in a grumpy mood for that day. Take my word on that one.

Lastly, people do emphasize this, but not to the extent that they should — high school is a lot different than college. Sure, you'll make lifelong friends at college, but they aren't the best friends you grew up with back home. You're classes aren't necessarily as fun, mainly because you don't know every student in them like back in high school. Ten times out of 10, I'll choose a class of 20 of my friends over a lecture hall filled with 200 strangers whom I'll never see after this semester. So, if you're still in high school, make sure to not waste a moment of what's left of your four years, because college will be here before you know it.

Finally, whether you're in high school, college or out of college, enjoy your time wherever you are. Take advantage of those 2 a.m. Taco Bell runs. Go to all of your classes. Most importantly, enjoy the time you spend with the people who mean the most to you.