Leaving familiarity and moving to a completely new place with new people is intimidating, and it’s okay to feel uncertain about this stage in life. Most seniors can’t wait to get out of high school and move on with their lives, and that’s good to look forward to the future.

For some, we end up missing the past, but for other people they get out and never look back. Either way, it’s important to feel okay with the transition. Whether or not you are happy to be moving on to something new and different, I believe it’s important to be prepared for what is to come.

For me personally, I didn’t realize how much I would miss having my core group of friends around me every day. I envisioned myself meeting new people and always having friends to hang out with, but I realized that one of the hardest parts of college is learning how to make friends and also how to be alone.

I considered myself to be a social person in high school, but I found it very hard to figure out how to make those close friendships in college, but they will come with time. Not everyone you meet will be someone you want to keep in your life, which is an unfortunate lesson we all have to learn.

Exams in college are a lot different than tests in high school. There’s no argument that high school tests are definitely something to stress about.

But now, this one exam is 20 % of your entire grade. That’s a pretty hard concept to swallow when you sit there staring at a 20-point question that you have no clue how to do.

But you also have to remember that college isn’t designed for everyone to get straight A’s. You might be pretty bummed that you got an 86 on an exam and then you find out the class average was a 73, and it starts to put things in perspective.

And this brings up the topic of studying. Learning how to studying is a key skill that will aid you for the rest of your life. Turns out staring at your notes for 10 or 20 minutes before the exam won’t get you an A like it will in high school. It’s a hard thing to accept.

So, to study effectively it’s important to take advantage of all of the resources the professor gives, and sometimes this isn’t a lot so you have to find your own. It’s also good to start studying prior to the night before an exam. Studying a little bit every day, days before an exam will help so much when you go to take it.

Regardless of everything that may seem scary and stressful in this article, it’s important to remember that no matter what happens, life goes on. It’s okay to be nervous and stressed about going to college, but you will find that you can handle a lot more than you thought you could and everything will work out.

Just remember that everyone is in the same situation; scared and confused.

Something as simple as introducing yourself to the person you sit next to in class could start a really great friendship. College is definitely a weird experience; you just have to go with the flow because that’s what the rest of us do.