High school is hard. As one t can speak from experience, I had no doubt that the transition from middle school to high school is one of the biggest changes that a student can make in their educational career. This progression into high school presents an increasingly complex life as the heightened level of stress from high school responsibilities will in itself distinguish itself from that of middle school. It is most apparent when considering a higher course load, greater stress about the future and (most likely) a reassessment of who your true friends really are.

Now despite the few differences here and there, the transition from high school to college is fundamentally not dramatically different. Considering that the area in which you study will be larger, your friends will probably scattered, and you will have a lot more freedom, the transition may not be that different.

However, these assumptions are not just backless projections; a weeklong expedition visiting Georgia's most notable colleges and universities has provided me with an understanding of the changes that come from college itself. Schools such as University of Georgia, Emory, Berry, Georgia State and Morehouse were on my list to experience and to consider applying myself to the campuss in the near future. Luckily as a junior, I do not have to make the decision of where I will go definitively, but being able to tour the schools gave me some great insight on not only where I might want to go, but also what it will take for me to transition from just a high school student to an adult.

Given the freedom that comes with attending college, there also comes a decent amount of responsibility. For the major trend that I witnessed across the board was that almost all of the college students were rather mature. Even without a parent there to constantly tell them what to do, it was a clearly defined level of maturity throughout the campuses that set them apart from their educational counterpart: high school. There is no doubt in my mind that the college kids that I observed were mature enough to balance their new norms. In this case, their new norms are the general changes in life that comes from a transition as recognizable as high school to college.

In retrospect, my three years of high school can be defined as some of the toughest years given my efforts to keep up with the change. With all of these things coming at you, it is fair to assume that one of the wisest things to do is to find the right balance. Whether it is from maintaining a suitable job to just being able to keep up with multiple college level classes, balance is a fundamental aspect of progressing oneself on the path towards a successful education.