It’s the spring semester of your senior year of high school and it seems everyone has a piece of advice for you before you walk across the stage. If you feel like this is the most overwhelming time of your life thus far, you’re in good company. After all, the future isn’t something you can entirely prepare for. So much of life is about rolling with the punches and making lemonade out of lemons. Though there is value in listening to someone who has been there, it’s hard to know just what advice to put your stock in. Having recently gone through this myself, I have realized that a lot of the things people told me about graduating and going to college have been true…. but not all of them.

Truth Number 1: You find out who your friends are.

I can’t count the number of times I've heard this one. While it tends to carry such ominous connotations, it is not always a bad thing. The statement is true in the most simplistic sense. You don’t necessarily lose friends, or gain them. You just realize who they are. When people tell you to be aware of this occurrence you don’t have to dread it.

I won’t deny that friends drift apart, especially during this phase of life, because it does happen. However, it isn’t the horrible tragedy that we have in our heads. There isn’t a big fight, you don’t end up hating each other. It is just what it sounds like, drifting apart, and most of the time its far less painful to experience it than it is to worry about it. You may not talk to your friends for a few weeks at a time, but it doesn’t mean you don’t like each other anymore. Sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder and those lunch dates over Christmas break become even more cherished. In some cases, depending on how far you go, you might find that you feel closer to your high school friends than you did in high school. Every situation will be different. On the other hand, sometimes you find yourself spending more and more time with the person that was just an acquaintance in high school. Things change after high school, but sometimes change is for the better.

Truth Number 2: There aren’t as many cliques in college.

Praise the good lord for that. There are few of us that, at some point or another, did not grow tired of the petty social hierarchy of high school. This might speak more to us ladies, but you can rest assured that college is different. I will try not to paint an image of Utopia because humans are flawed everywhere you go, but for the most part, college students are more laid back about social status. It will no longer be a big deal for you to hang out with someone new. Friend groups blend together much more seamlessly than before and who you are and fitting in does not hold the same weight it did in high school.

The Big Lie: Professors don’t care about you.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about college. Let me start by saying that some care more than others, and some schools emphasize this more than others, but over all, this isn’t true. So many people make it seem as if educators stop possessing human qualities like empathy and love when they reach the collegiate level and this just isn’t a fair statement. While you will run into some lousy professors that don’t care, there are plenty that do. Just the other day one of my professors reached out to me to discuss what he could do to help me reach my goals. Professors care more than you might think, but it takes work on your part. They are more likely to work with you if you work hard to help yourself. I realize that it can be harder in classes with more students, but just because they don’t know you personally, doesn’t mean they don’t want you to be successful. College is a time to step up and take the initiative to do better for yourself, and that can be hard to do. It takes work and you have to find out what works best for you. A lot of studying and learning will take place on your own but it isn’t because professors don’t care about you. It is because college allows you to be responsible for your own education. Remember there is only one of them and many students. If you want them to know you, get to know them. Stay after class for five minutes to tell them you really enjoyed the assigned reading, or congratulate them on a recent academic accomplishment. You might be surprised by the results. Everyone needs to be encouraged. Don’t wait until you are failing a week before final exams to build a relationship with your professors.