At the time of me writing this article, I have just moved into college. The feeling is quite surreal—though I have lived in dorms in Harvard and Brown for weeks on end, it's always been in the summer, sandwiched between two consecutive high school academic years. Despite desiring to dorm, I only realize now just how liberating the increased independence feels, especially compared to high school.

Don't misunderstand me; I've always been very independent from elementary school onward—from the fourth grade I have walked home from school awaiting my parents' arrival from their jobs. This steadily increased as I progressed through middle school and high school; as my commutes grew increasingly longer, my self-reliance became ever more critical. However, college feels different, in a way that makes you feel isolated from your parents. For instance, it's been years since I've slept in the same room as another person.

Despite my relatively high independence, I still had neither discipline nor structure; my entire routine was what I decided would happen at that instant. However, college, with a fixed schedule for my classes and other commitments, made me realize that I needed to discipline myself. Luckily, that method was proven to be true during my summer semester at Harvard.

I set a daily routine for myself for everything—waking up, showering, prayers, breakfast, classes, review, office hours, lunch, dinner, and other necessities. I utilized Google Calendar to make my scheduling a tad easier to prevent falling behind and consequently struggling. This was critical for my eight-credit introductory biology class at Harvard, as regardless of the institution, an eight-credit summer class was intensive, with two hours of class every day and eight hours of lab a week, coupled with three midterms and a final.

Without extensive planning and discipline, I probably wouldn't have received an A in the class. I struggled in my junior year of high school because I failed to utilize this technique for all my classes and ended up burning myself out. I intend to continue using this strict timetable for me to not just schedule my classes but my activities and social life so I don't experience burnout.

Another aspect of independence that strikes me now is me feeding myself. My eating habits weren't solid during high school, and that reflected in my health afterward. As I started cooking and traveling, I improved my dieting habits such that I can eat my favorite foods but maintain excellent health. With exercise, the benefits are multiplied. One lesson I imparted from my experiences in high school is that good health translates into good performance, which in turn results in good grades.

I wish to integrate these experiences into my college life as I transition into what many call one of the most important chapters of my life. I hope that the lessons that were tried and true by me will still impart the same effect as they did in the past.