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Student Life

College Is So Much Different Than High School

The pond is so much bigger.

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Photo by Matt Ragland on Unsplash

High school was weird. Those four years of my life were definitely not the best four years of my life. I was so excited but nervous to get out of high school and move on to college. Even though basically everything is different at college than in high school, I've been fine with making the adjustment.

The biggest thing that's different in college from high school, for me, is my personality. I feel like I'm more open to talking to new people here than I was in high school. During high school, I stuck with the people I knew, scared of meeting new people. At college, however, I talk to everyone. Even though I definitely won't become friends with more than half the people I randomly talk to, I'm more of an extrovert here, even in class.

In high school, I went to bed at one or two in the morning and woke up at 5 A.M. In college, I go to bed at 3 A.M. and wake up at 8 A.M.

In high school, I had to go through eight hours of continuous nonsense with very little sleep, went to drama practice until 6 P.M., went home and did homework, and then went to bed late. In college, I have all this free time to get my life together.

While I'm waiting to go to my next class, I'll do homework. Even though there's a lot of work I need to do, and I know I'll be struggling a lot because my biggest challenge is procrastinating, life is definitely less rushed at college.

In high school, I had a group of friends, and everyone in my school basically knew who everyone was. You could say a name and anyone will know who you're talking about. In college, there are SO many people. It's so much like the real world.

I learned so much about independence already because I don't have a bunch of friends yet. It's definitely harder to make friends in college because everyone has their cliques already.

It's been many years since I've shared a room. It's been an adjustment coming to college and having to share a room all of a sudden. I no longer have the 24/7 quiet I need to do homework alone in my room. I have to deal with someone else's sleeping patterns, cleanliness, and eating habits.

I no longer have 100% say in who comes in my room. I have to consult with another person to see if it's okay if my friend stays the weekend. Even though I have so much freedom to do whatever I want, it's still weird to share a room.

I'm only two weeks in at college, and it has already taught me so much about time management and learning to do things on my own. I have to do my own laundry. I have to decide when I need to go shop for food. I decide if I'm going to class or if I'm going to a party.

I don't have to ask permission from anyone to do anything. I make all my own decisions. In high school, I had a curfew. I had to ask my parents to go out. I have so much more freedom at college than high school, and it's great.

All in all, college has definitely been an adjustment, but I've learned so much already and I love it so far.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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