When I was in high school, I really looked forward to moving out and going to college. I worked really hard in high school to get good grades in order to get into a good school and get scholarships. College is so awesome, but so much work. It is extremely fun but at first it was hard to adjust to, and sometimes still is. For some reason I thought that college meant instant happiness; and in some ways it does, but not all of them.
I wish I knew that even though as a college student, you are constantly surrounded by people, you are going to feel lonely. You meet so many new, cool friends which is awesome (really, this is one of the best parts of college). But they aren't what you know. They aren't the friends you left back at home that you have known for years. These new friendships will grow and you will become closer, it just might take longer than you expect. Don't lose hope, loneliness is temporary. You will meet people that will become lifelong friends; and you still have your high school friends as well, even though you may not see them as much.
I wish I knew that it is okay to make a bad grade (or a few). College coursework is not easy, and it is definitely not the same as high school. You have fewer small assignments and mostly exams which count for almost all of your final grade. It is important to do well on tests, but it is okay if you don't make a good grade on all of them. The world isn't over and you can talk to the professor to see what you can do to help your grade or make better on the next exam. Most of the time the professors are really understanding and are more than willing to help you. You just have to ask.
I wish I knew that I was going to have a heck of a workload. I wish I would have developed a better work ethic in high school. I didn't have to study much at all in high school to get good grades and I could procrastinate on everything. You can't do that in college. I didn't really know what studying meant until I studied for 6 hours for one test in college. On top of two tests, you are also going to have 12 assignments and three quizzes in one week, and possibly a paper due. You will learn that this is a big part of the whole college deal, and you will work for what you get.
I wish I knew that I was going to miss my mom and dad like crazy. I took for granted seeing them everyday, their cooking, and laundry services (OK, I still take advantage of this one but it's fine). Even if you can't wait to move out and do things on your own, you are going to miss your family. Cherish them and all of the time you have with them.
I wish I knew that time is going to fly. Before you know it, your freshman year of college will be almost over with. I wish I would have realized this and taken it all in more, the good and the bad.
I wish I knew that I was going to miss high school. I never thought this would happen, as I couldn't wait to graduate. I miss seeing the familiar faces that I saw everyday for four years. I miss having easy classes and not having a ton of homework. I miss not having so much stress about school work.
I wish I knew that I would change. I would change into this independent, happy, college-loving young adult. My rocky start of college would make me appreciate who I was becoming even more. Things would get better and everything was going to be okay; actually, more than okay, things were going to get so much better. Sometimes you just have to learn some lessons so that you can improve your life.
Knowing that these things were going to happen and that everything was going to be okay would have been nice. Nonetheless, I am thankful for how college has shaped me thus far. I'm only finishing up my freshman year, and I have already learned so much. Like make sure you pay attention to which dryer you are starting in the laundry room; or you might start the wrong one and come back in an hour to find that you just paid for an empty dryer and your clothes are still wet. Even though on some days I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry at my life, I still love it.
