They always say high school is the best four years of your life. I thought this statement was true for the longest time. Until I was out of high school and away from all the high school drama. Don’t get me wrong, high school was fun, and a lot of great things did happen but when you get to college, you realize you are actually on your way to your future and starting to really figure out what you want to do with your life.

At first, leaving high school and realizing I was no longer a high school kid hit me hard. I was so used to walking down the halls saying "Hi" to everyone I saw. I loved knowing people and getting involved as much as I could. From being a part of my high school’s band to playing varsity field hockey, it was all so great. Going to college, I promised myself I would get involved with everything, but my first year of college was a rough one for me. I was no longer in the high school setting. I was out of my element…I did not know anyone anymore and I had to start all over with making new friends. This was so hard at first because I was a commuter and a lot of times, us commuters miss out on things because in college, especially college freshmen tend to dorm so they can have the “full college experience”. This was not too important to me considering my parents bought me a brand new car after I graduated high school so to me, that was more worth it than dorming. I started getting used to my college schedule and went to a few activities on campus and meeting some people. My first year was starting off pretty well! Until one day, the high I was feeling wore off. The homework came in at full force and I was starting to get depressed. I would look at other people and see them laughing and smiling and though they were having the time of their life. I missed having a lot of friends in high school. I missed being known by people. At college, I was a nobody. No one knew my name and if they did, they most likely forgot it until the next time I talked to them again. This was not me. This was not the girl I knew. This was not the girl I wanted to be and I knew I needed to make a change. I knew one thing was for sure; my sophomore year was going to be better than my first year of college.

I came into sophomore year with my head held high ready to make a positive change for myself. I started applying for jobs on campus and activities to be involved in. I knew this would be the only way to make my college experience worthwhile. Once I started getting involved and meeting some great people, I was set. I was so happy and I still managed to keep good grades. In that moment, I realized I did not miss high school anymore and all the memories and the person I use to be were not important to me anymore. I was someone new. Someone who was willing to take chances. I was putting myself out there. This was not a bad way of thinking, it was just a way of telling myself I could no longer live in the past. I had to fully rebuild myself again in college and it took me some time. But at the end of it all, it was well worth it.

For anyone reading this who is going to college or may even be in college, I encourage you to get involved in your school community. Whether it is joining a club you are interested in, or being part of anything involving your school... get involved! You will not regret it. I think the hardest part for students going to college and hating where they go is because they do not get involved. I was miserable where I was until I made a change and got active in my school. All of this worked for me considering I was having a hard time meeting new people and getting involved really helped me to fix that problem. It is never too late to make something of yourself as long as you believe that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Now I feel like college is the best four years of your life because these are the four years that are really going to count. These are the years you find out what you really want to do with your life and how to achieve those goals. College can be scary at times, especially your first year in an unfamiliar place but as long as you have a good support system behind you, you should be able to get through anything.

I am in no sense saying my memories in high school did not matter because they did. To me, there is a time where you have to move on from those memories and start focusing on your current life and that is exactly what I chose to do. My high school memories will always be with me. But for now, my main focus is to graduate college. My hopes are to get a great job that I love waking up for each and every day. High school was some great times. But I can say, I have found myself in college, which I never really had the chance to do in high school. I have become the person I never thought I could be just because I believed in myself.