Do you remember your middle school years? Perhaps you blocked them out because they were difficult years in your life (like they are for most people). On the other hand, your middle school years could have been where you began your lifelong friendships and created great memories. I ask this question because I am now back in a middle school (and high school) as a teacher. I am seeing how college and middle school are similar and how they are different. There are some things middle school students take for granted, and there are some other things that college students are happy they no longer have to deal with.

1. Asking to get a drink or go to the bathroom

This is something middle schoolers often raise their hands and ask! However, in college you can excuse yourself from class because: 1) You're an adult, 2) you pay for your class time, and 3) it's less disruptive to the professor. You can definitely tell who the freshmen are in college because they raise their hands to ask to be excused at the beginning of the school year.

2. Less freedom

Supervision is definitely needed more at that middle school age, but there is such a difference between those younger years and college years! The amount of supervision at middle school dances, in hallways, during assemblies, and in the classroom is much greater than anywhere in college. There are many reasons for this, but having more freedom as an adult is like taking a breath of fresh air.

3. Lockers

During those middle school years, many students learn to open a lock for the first time, and there are horror stories about kids getting shoved into lockers. As I watch kids in my middle school struggle to find and open their lockers, I am glad I am there to help them out.

4. Not driving

As a middle school student, you cannot legally drive yourself around. There are pros to this such as relaxing in the passenger seat while you ride to your location, not paying for gas/insurance, and having time to finish homework in the car. Yet, your schedule is dependent on who can drive you to your destination (this is also true for some college students). For that reason, middle schoolers often ride buses to and from school. I had to ride the bus, and I have some interesting stories! Some not so good, but some that might make you pee your pants laughing.

5) Work time in class

It is great when you don't have homework. In college, that rarely happens, so students usually go home with a load of homework that feels like the image above. Do you remember in prior schooling when we got class time do start, or even finish, assignments? That is something that is certainly is missed in college because we just get out of class early. That is why it is helpful to form college study groups to brainstorm with classmates when you have a question.

6. Free books

Young kids surely take free books for granted. As a college student, buying books is a daunting task because your bank account takes a blow. For that reason, college students do all they can to lower the price they must pay, but it will never be the like the days of free textbooks.

7. Five minute passing time indoors

Typically, middle school students get five minutes to move from one class to the next because they have all their classes inside (in states where it snows during the winter). In college, students sometimes have ten minutes to move from one side of campus to the other, walking through rain or snow depending on the time of year. In many cases, university students don't even have classes back to back and can nap or do homework in between classes!

8. Trying new things!

Middle school is one of the first places students start sports, band, choir, or figure out other things they want to get involved in! Those interests and hobbies then shape future experiences in high school, college, relationships, and jobs. That's pretty exciting!

Overall, middle school can be a challenging time in life, but there are certainly good things about that time that shapes who we become and allows us to be more like the people God created us to be. We can also see how college is similar and completely different while we carry some of the things we learned in those early formative years.