What I learned in boarding school is...

Let me start off by saying, no, I didn't go to Hogwarts, and I wasn't in "Zoey 101." We didn't drive mopeds to class and our staircases didn't move. I did go to a boarding school in southern Pennsylvania, however.

Coming to a public university, I have found that I am in the minority with this whole boarding-school-attendee thing. If people went to private schools, they were often day schools, often religious, often in their hometown.

My experience at boarding school was a crazy one. I almost left my sophomore year after I felt like I couldn't take the pressure. I'm sure glad I didn't.

Almost a year after leaving the hallowed halls of my alma mater, I've done quite a bit of reflecting.

Here are some thoughts every boarding school graduate has after leaving, mostly in chronological order.

1. I'm done?

There's something to be said about leaving an academy. The second you shake hands with your headmaster and receive that fancy diploma in your white dress, the weight of the world is lifted off your shoulders. You head back to your seat on that graduation platform, or whatever your school's tradition was, and you feel like you'll never have anything to worry about ever again.

2. What do I do now?

You've spent the last four years of your life studying, playing sports, dancing, doing theater, eating meals served family style at such particular times. So, now that all that's done... what do normal people do? What is free time? What do you mean "hobby"?

3. Oh my God, I'm going to college...

You really never thought the day would come when you would say goodbye to the people you've built a family with for all those years, but that day has come and gone. You don't really have a lot of shopping to do for college-- I mean, you already have everything. Your entire summer is spent mentally preparing yourself for something you've been trained for. (For all those boarding-school seniors out there: I promise you'll be ready for college.)

4. Really?

When you get to college, you're exposed to many, many, many different people. Some good, some bad, some in between, but all different. Sure, your boarding school represented a hundred and some odd countries, but now you're with a different kind of diverse groups. If you go to a public university, many of the attendees are from that area, so venturing far from home makes you quite the outside. "What are you doing here from southern Pennsylvania?" was a question I got asked almost every day during orientation week. You can't help but remember just how many cultures you were exposed to so young, and you look around now at all these people that are from the same place and can't help but think, really?

5. This is so different...

You come to realize that not everyone is as prepped for college as you are. You've literally been trained to do it all. You watch people go out every single night and skip class the next day and wonder how they can do that. Your notes are impeccable compared to your peers, who barely jot anything down in class. (Although, don't worry, everyone is still wearing Vineyard Vines and Lilly.)

6. I miss it.

Finally, and the one I'll elaborate most on, you'll miss it like hell. Sure, you've experienced missing things before. You did leave your mom and your dog when you were just 14 years old.

But you've never missed anything this much. You sincerely miss that little ice cream shop in town and jumping in your roommate's bed at midnight on her birthday because she was your best friend and you loved her like family. You miss the structure. You miss the teacher who would yell at you if you were out of dress code because, quite frankly, you dress like a homeless dog now. You miss those sit-down meals because you've lost count of how many dining hall turkey sandwiches you've eaten this week at really weird times of the day. It is so strange when it starts to get warm and you can't text your best friend to meet you on the quad to watch the boys play frisbee. It's not a constant sadness or anything. It's just a pang in your heart every once in a while as you get a whiff of something that smells just like home. Home is in the middle of everywhere, and you know that now.

To all the graduating boarding school students: here is a word of advice. Spend as much time as you can outside. Try every spot in the library. Eat the chicken (you'll miss it). Cherish your sports teams or your dance team or your theater crew. You'll miss them too. Look around every once in a while and just breathe. This is the last time you'll be there for a good amount of time. Enjoy it.