This is the best time of your life, right?

Being the first member of my family to attend college, I had absolutely, posivitely NO clue what I was getting myself into. Well, here I am about seven or eight weeks in and this is what I have found to be the most shocking.

1. Responsibilities

You. Have. So. Many. Responsibilities. Right from doing your laundry to waking yourself up on time. (Believe me when I say waking up is hard.) The urge to not push that snooze button is so hard when sleep is so good.

2. Grades

This isn't high school anymore. These grades are what determine your future. You are paying to be here so why would you not keep your grades up? Not to mention it isn't necessarily easy. These professors are hard. Most of the classes I am in are "teach yourself" type classes and the professor is just there to give you the test or sort of go over the notes with you. So good-luck.

3. Hometown Friends

As bad as I hate to say it, you won't keep up with your hometown friends as much as you expect. Not because you don't care, but because you are busy.

4. Cliques are still a thing

Sadly, cliques do not disappear, but they are not as big of a deal as they were in high school. It is also a lot easier in college to "re-invent yourself."

5. You're busy. Very busy.

There is so much to do in such a little amount of time. There is always something due or something going on and it is so hard not to get overwhelmed. It's so hard not to overload yourself.

6. You're going to miss your family (and your pets.)

For those of you who think you'll never go home– do I have news for you. You are going to miss your bed, your mom's dinner, and your pets. These are things you never really were forced to go without, therefore, you never really knew how much they mattered. But they do.

7. Sleep is precious

In order to stay alive, naps are key. You have an hour between classes? Time to sprint back to the dorm and take a quick nap because trust me when I say you are going to be exhausted.

All in all, college is just high school on steroids. College is not bad, don't get me wrong, but it's truly not some new entire world like some of you are expecting.