With only a month left of my first year of college, I've realized how different I am and all I have learned in the past year. There are so many things that high school doesn't teach you about the real world that are valuable to learn in college. Here's some of the things I have learned.

1. Sleep is important.

I already knew this going into college, but once I realized how hard it is for me to be productive on 5 hours of sleep, it showed me just how important sleep really is.

2. You miss your dogs when you're away from home.

Every time I'm about to go home, I'm so excited to see my family, but also my dogs. I always miss their company when I'm at school.

3. Going to the DMV by yourself isn't that scary.

I had to go renew my license by myself and there wasn't a long line. The workers were nice, too.

4. Walking everywhere on campus isn't a big deal.

And walking to my car, which takes about 15 minutes, isn't that big of a deal, either, once it becomes part of a routine. Plus, the added exercise is a bonus!

5. You miss your mom's homemade meals.

I don't have a kitchen in my dorm, so it makes it hard to cook meals for myself, but I've managed to survive off of anything I can make in my microwave. There's nothing like coming home to mom's homemade dinners.

6. Knowing the way you learn best is important.

In high school, I didn't have to study that hard to make good grades in my classes. That changed in college, when I would study for hours and still only make a C on the exam. It became a lot easier to effectively study when I figured out that my best memory is my muscle memory. If I write something enough times, I will be more likely to remember it.

7. Doing your laundry with quarters is annoying.

It's annoying to have to carry your sack of quarters to the laundry room, which is in a different building than your dorm, and have to pay 5 quarters per load. So it's 10 quarters to wash and dry your laundry. It's nice to not have to pay for laundry when you go home.

8. Procrastination is a real problem.

Especially when you have 9,000 things going on in one day. You forget to finish that paper until the last minute, or you just choose to wait till the last minute because your lack of motivation is so high.

9. Reading the textbook is important if the professor says that half of each exam will come from the textbook.

It's up to you to read material that the professor will never mention in class, and this was quite an experience for me on the first exam. Sometimes, you have to teach yourself the material.

10. Being confident comes with practice.

As time has gone on, I've noticed how much more confident I was than on my first day of college. I've met some great friends that have allowed me to be myself and enjoy my uniqueness.

Perhaps the best thing that has happened to me in my first year of college is how close I am with God. I run to Him with all that I have, and having such a merciful and stable foundation to rely on when life gets hard has made college even more enjoyable.