There is no doubt that college, as everyone loves to say, is the best four years of your life. If you haven’t listened to “I Love College” by Asher Roth you may want to give it a listen.

One of the best parts about college is being on your own. You finally have the freedom to decide if you want to go to class without calling the school explaining why you’re not there (definitely go to class though). Not to mention, you don’t have someone on your case about unloading the dishwasher the second you get home.

Also, it’s nice not to have a nine-hour day with classes back to back, depending on how you schedule your class. In college, you have the option to space out your classes and decide when you want to wake up, which is pretty amazing. There is no reason to get up at absurd hours anymore unless if you sign up for an 8 a.m. class. If you do, I’m so sorry.

Okay but let’s be honest, the craziest part about college is the social life. If you’re like me, your high school social life was nothing compared to college. At college, it’s acceptable to go out on a Wednesday or even a Tuesday. You could go out every night of the week if you wanted too! I promise you won’t have trouble finding a buddy to tag along. It’s crazy to watch a roomful of strangers become best friends when an awesome song comes on.

So, yeah, all of this is amazing, but let’s think about the real reason why you’re putting yourself into thousands of dollars in debt. The education. Remember the whole independence thing I mentioned earlier? Yeah, this is where it seriously kicks in.

Most of us grew up having parents who constantly checked some kind of parent portal to see how we were doing in our classes. If we needed to be doing better, they would let us know. But in college, it’s all on you. You are the one who makes the final decisions on whether to stay in a class or drop it depending on how much effort you put into it. Also, attendance is important. In high school, you could miss some days without it affecting you much, but now miss a few classes and your grade starts to go down.

Teachers also aren’t as lenient with you. I have never taken the risk of missing a test because I know it won’t be as easy to make it up as it was in high school. Also, you’re made aware of due dates from the minute you walk through the door the first day of class. Everything you need to know is in the syllabus and if you don’t make yourself familiar with it, that’s your fault. Trust me, these professors don’t want to hear your excuses.

As one would expect, the content in college courses is a lot harder than the ones in high school. You’re finally taking classes revolving around what you intend to do after school, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. If anything there is a lot more pressure on you now more than ever. You can’t let any penny of what you’re spending go to waste.

Oh, but don’t forget, while you’re trying to have a social life and make it onto the Dean’s List every semester, make sure you get a job so you can pay back your student loans, and get involved in every club possible so that you can build your resume. OH WAIT, and get an internship.

Okay, college is super hard, but I wouldn’t change one minute of it. The friends and memories I have made on this campus will stay with me forever. Everyday I continue to grow as a person, and that’s what is the most important. You only have four years at the school of your life, so why not make the most out of it, right?