My sister graduated high school this weekend. We’ve been talking about this for the past three years: her leaving high school and joining me in the college world! (Even though she made it clear that she does NOT want to go to the same school…) After all of the excitement died down, I was left with a lot of thoughts: my incredible pride, as well as my incredible worries! So, here goes nothing.

Graduating high school is a huge accomplishment!

I am not here for this new trend of downplaying high school graduations. The main offenders are college students telling these young people things like, “Congrats on doing what 80% of the U.S. does.” Sorry you guys are jealous that your glory days are behind you or something… don’t act like you weren’t proud of yourself when you graduated. Making it through 12+ years of school is a big deal!

It’s also a little sad.

You’re leaving the life you’ve known for the past 18 years behind. You’re not going to school with the people you’ve known intimately for years and years. Sure, the thought of college and your new, adult(ish) life is incredibly exciting, but you’re also allowed to feel sad about what you’re losing.

(Shout out to some of her best friends with us in this picture, who quickly became my own friends. Love you guys too!!)

Things will be very, very different.

You’re living away from home. You’re going to a bigger school. There are a whole slew of new people. That’s the obviously new stuff. There’s a ton of other new things you will start to experience: living with someone who ISN’T your sister (I’d argue living with me was way better, but you probably won’t), a class schedule that doesn’t go from 8:00-3:00, the list goes on and on.

The sudden burst of freedom can be a little overwhelming.

Without the enclosed hallways and constant supervision, it is way easier to skip classes. DO NOT ABUSE THE POWER. You pick what you eat and when you eat it. I went to Sheetz at 4:00 a.m. during finals week this past year… do not recommend. However, in our case, mom still has eyes everywhere; as she would say, make good choices!

All of this to say… college is definitely, without a doubt, 100% better than high school.

So, obviously the freedom stuff and the skipping class idea is a major drawing point. But, that’s not even the half of it. You get to study the thing you’re most passionate about and make a career of it. You get to make more friends (in addition to the awesome ones you already have) that could last a lifetime. You experience things no one outside your “squad” (oh, please forgive me for using that term) will understand. It’s definitely a one-of-a-kind adventure.

Live it up, and live it up wisely. Welcome to the college world, young grasshopper.

Oh, yeah, and I love you.