They tell you that college is the time to become your independent self, and they aren't wrong. What they forgot to tell you is that when you become your independent self, everything you have goes away. Everything you take for granted is suddenly out of reach before we realize it. Even though I definitely don't miss high school, I do miss some of the benefits of being a high schooler.
Sleep- When you hear college kids say they went to bed at 4 a.m., you'd probably think they were joking right? wrong. We never realized how accessible a good night sleep was in high school. We thought it was cool to stay up till 1 a.m. on a school night, but now in college we'd kill to get to bed before 2 a.m. Sometimes sleep isn't even an option some nights. When you are up till 5 and have a 7:30 what's the point of sleep? Grab a coffee and prepare to get on the struggle bus.
Music- Yes, music in high school was great to have but we never appreciated how much it makes us feel at peace. When walking to class or are in a loud library just pop in your headphones and tune everything out. Music is such an escape which everyone needs if you want to stay sane. There is music for everything too. If you need some study music or some music to cope with your mood, it's all there.
Support- College is tough no denying it, and sometimes we just feel lost. In high school we had our parents to go to or our teachers were a little more lenient with due dates, but not in college. Your parents are 1,000 miles away and your professors don't even know your name. We failed to see how much support we actually did have in high school till it was too late. It's important for everyone in college to find a good support system and stick to it, or else you won't survive (yikes).
Family time- Family is always been a big part of my life and thankfully I get to see my family more than others. Some people won't see their families till Christmas and that can make a person feel pretty down. In high school we definitely should have taken more advantages to do stuff with our family. Instead we wanted to be with our friends and look cool all the time, which we weren't.
Money- endless amounts of money! (or so we thought). In high school we never felt the anxiety about never having money or having to pay bills. We could go out Friday night with our friends and not have to stress about paying for our meals or drinks.. those were the days.
