If you're anything like me, you've spent your entire academic life striving for nothing but the best and getting exceptional grades. If you're anything like me you've spent countless nights crying after taking a test because you think you did awful just to find out you did great and there really wasn't anything to worry about in the first place. If you're anything like me, you've never gotten anything less than a B.

Well I'm here to tell you that if you're anything like me, you are in for a surprise in your first semester of college.

I am not saying that college was a rude awakening; however, I am saying that you should try not to get upset when the outcomes don't come out as you had planned.

High school can be tough but, once you've experienced college coursework, you will soon realize that high school was easy and only partially prepared you for the last stretch of your academic career.

Halfway through your first semester in college, you'll wish you were back in high school doing what seemed to simply be busy work. You'll wish you had those "easy" teachers who gave out good grades and extra credit like it was going out of style. You'll wish you had time to relax without stressing over essays and assignments.

Although, there are some aspects of college that aren't so difficult and scary.

Such as the fact that you're not stuck inside of a classroom for eight hours at a time, so you can take a break between classes. You know every assignment you will need to complete before finals and when they are due. There is also no dress code and no electronic policy. Plus, 9 times out of 10, the food is much better.

People react differently to changes in their life so I can't say for sure that college will be the same for everyone as it has been for me so far; however, I can say that college will change how you view yourself and your preconceptions of that you thought college would be like. For instance, you might not do well your first semester and you cannot let it get to you; college is a step higher than high school and hopefully you will understand that.

College is where you find yourself. And if you're anything like me, you find that your 4.0 from high school is nothing like a 4.0 in college and that is not the end of the world.

From, A Second Semester Freshman.