You've put on the cap and gown, you've walked across the stage, and you've received your diploma. The past four years of your life are officially behind you and you are ready to tackle the next chapter in your life. You have heard all the advice you think you can handle. "Don't take everything you own with you when you move out." "Don't order your books until you're sure you'll use them in the class." "Always wear flip-flops in the shower." This transition will be one of the biggest you have in your life. While the other advice is helpful, there's a lot that people aren't telling you about college.
1. Change.
Your whole life you have probably been convinced that change is a bad thing. Let me tell you something, you will change more in your first year of college than you did the past four years. Embrace it. It's the first time in your life where you're truly independent. Open your mind to new ideas and concepts. Allow yourself to change, evolve, and mature. Change is inevitable. embrace it.
2. It's not easy.
If you are anything like me, when people say they aren't going to college or they dropped out you're shocked. I could never understand how people could just not want a higher education. However when you are studying for a final over everything you've learned all year, running on three hours of sleep, and trying not to think about the 15 page paper you have due at 8 a.m. you will completely understand why. College isn't meant for everyone and that's okay. Respect other's decisions.
3. Fall outs.
I wish I could tell you losing friends after you graduate is one of those things that people just say, but I can't. It's hard to stay in contact with everyone once you are all out chasing your own dreams. Sometimes you discover you were only friends because you went to the same school. Sometimes you grow up while others do not. You just have to remember everything that happens, happens for a reason. Most importantly life goes on. Focus on the positive people in your life. The ones who stuck around, the ones that help you grow.
4. Home.
If you're going away you are probably thrilled to move out, but also scared and don't want to leave what's familiar. So here's how it will go, You will get homesick, no matter how ready you were to leave, it will happen. Then you will find yourself wanting to go home a little less. Then when you are at home you will be wishing you were back at school. When you do come back home, it won't feel the same. You'll find yourself calling your college home more than your actual hometown. It's okay it just means you are growing as a person.
5. Friends.
So when you get to college you will meet some amazing people. You will create friendships that will last a lifetime. See you get to truly choose your friends. People who have the same interests, beliefs, etc. You will have fun and make an insane amount of memories. Prepare yourself though. In the summer you will go from living in a building full of your friends to being hours apart from them. It sucks because everyone is from different parts of the state, maybe even the country. This just makes reunions even better.
College is an exciting time, especially your first year. I don't think someone can be fully prepared for what they are about to encounter, but I think figuring it out is half the experience. The best advice I can give you is not to stress the small things and to always remember the bigger picture. Never get too carried away, and always remember that all your hard work will pay off. Your graduation is not an ending it is a beginning. Enjoy whatever life throws at you.
