Four years ago in my freshman year of high school, I fell in love. I fell in love with going to a bigger school, being more independent, and being treated more like an adult (at least compared to when I was in middle school). I was so ready to be challenged with the harder classes and the heavier workload because it made me feel so grown up. Now everything that I loved about high school is even better in college and then some.

1. Independence

In high school, I thought I gained independence, but it was nothing compared to going to college. You don't have to worry about any other schedule than your own. You go where you want when you want (you don't even have to ask to go to the bathroom anymore) and you don't have anyone telling you what to do (except for professors; you should listen to them if you want to stay independent in college).

2. No curfew

College is like a perpetual sleepover with your friends. You can stay up all night having fun with your friends without having to worry what time you have to be home. Also, if you want to go to see your favorite artist in concert on a school night, it's up to you to decide whether it's worth it to go instead of your parents.

3. You find out which of your high school friends are going to be lifelong friends

Once you leave high school, you realize who will always be there for you. If you're reading this as a high schooler now, I'm telling you now that you are not going to talk to even your best friends from home as much as you'd like. But the friends that will be lifelong friends will always pick up where you left off when you do get to see them.

4. You also find out which of your high school friends were fake

Going away to college gives you an opportunity to not only make new friends but also figure out who is really important in your life and who is actually turned out to be toxic. Being away from home and not seeing them every day in school makes it easy to put things in perspective and cut these people out of your life if necessary. However, this doesn't mean you're safe from befriending fake people in college as well...

5. You get to start with a clean slate

Not only do you have a chance to make new friends, but you're able to start new good habits like studying more and going to the gym. You also get to start over with making new friends and joining new clubs.

6. You get to stop worrying about what other people think of you

In college, everyone does their own thing. People don't really care what you do because everyone is grown up and just doesn't care anymore. Gossip does not exist on the level it does in high school. Even if it did, you do you and no one will ever bother you for it.

7. You find new ways to find and express yourself

Whether it's the obvious things like getting a new haircut, dying your hair, getting new piercings, getting a tattoo, or maybe you got into writing or you found a new music taste, college gives you the opportunity to figure out who you really are without the pressures of high school kids judging you over ever move you make. You're also exposed to all the ways so many other people have learned to express themselves once they get out of high school.

8. You learn how to be an adult

In college, you have to make decisions about things like "how often do I really need to wash my bedsheets when it costs money for each load?" You really begin to appreciate how much our parents do for us once you have to start doing it on your own.

9. You're exposed to so many new people and ideas

In college, you're exposed to so many new cultures, groups of people, and ideas that you would never be exposed to at home. Learning about the types of backgrounds people come from helps you put things into perspective about your own experiences.

10. If you don't like a professor, you only have to deal with them for one semester

In high school, it was the worst when you get a teacher you don't like because you would have to see them every day for the entire year. In college, you only have to deal with them on the days you have the class (two or three days a week) and you only have to deal with them for the semester.

11. You can bring your laptop to (most) classes

Besides the fact that having your laptop can enhance your learning experience, when you get stuck in a class that is either too easy, too hard, or just flat out boring, you can either go on your laptop to look up what the hell the professor is talking about, or you can scroll through social media until the class is over. This is one of my favorite perks.