11 Reasons Why College Is Nothing Like High School

There are many reasons as to why life in college is so different than life in high school. Keep reading for 11 reasons!

1. You no longer live with your parents.

This can be a good thing and a bad thing. For some, maybe this change has caused them to go off the deep end. You don’t receive home-cooked meals every night and can’t stand how much you miss your mom. But some also feel a lot less stressed without their parents telling them to pick up their clothes or do the dishes. To put it simply, you are on your own clock now. Yes, you still pick up after yourself, wash your clothes, do your dishes… but now it’s on YOUR time. When it’s convenient for you! Ahhh the beauty of freedom! If only parents would learn that they can get exactly what they want with a little reverse psychology…

2. You’ve learned from all your stupid high school mistakes.

In high school you’re young, and I hate to break it to you, but you probably were pretty stupid too… everyone can look back and recall a few “dumber than dumb” moments they had. But don’t worry, it wasn’t all for nothing…there actually is some good to come from it. Now that your past the high school chapter of your life you can “forget the past and remember the lesson” … life’s too short to dwell on it too much.

3. You know how to admit defeat and own up to your actions.

There’s something about high school that causes everyone to feel the need to be perfect and also to refuse to take too much responsibility. “It wasn’t my fault” and “I’m not the one who started it” are common phrases among family and even friends. In college, everyone just gets it. People mess up, no one is perfect. And you come off a lot classier if you just own up to your mistakes and apologize. It’s so simple. Why couldn’t we have figured that out a decade ago?!

4. You are no longer a child.

As your parents probably told you in high school, “You’re still a kid”. Now, you finally ARE an adult. And like your mother always told you, with adulthood comes responsibility. You realize it’s your life, and yes, you can make what you want of it. You no longer have to report to your parents. And with your life in your hands, you find yourself feeling stronger, driven, more determined, and more successful at the end of the day.

5. You can completely recreate yourself.

This is why college is so beautiful. You can completely recreate yourself while leaving your high school self behind. Your past does not define you… although when you’re stuck in your hometown for your whole life you may feel as if it does. But once you get away and start a life with new people and a new environment, without all of the distractions surrounding you back home, you really allow yourself to grow. And best of all, you really do find your true self.

6. You’ve figured out that daily chores are the norm and it’s really not that bad.

This is the way life is now and you learn to accept it. In high school you threw a fit if your mom asked you to “please vacuum your room” (the entire room?! What?!) Now you vacuum your entire apartment and text your roommate, “Hey want me to vacuum your room while I’m at it?!” Because #adulting.

7. You’ve escaped that infamous high school bubble.

College is truly where you figure out your priorities… and although you may have plans to go to some party Friday night as you once did in high school, it’s no longer the center of your universe and at the tippity-top of your priority list. If you don’t finish your essay in time to make it out you think, “that’s okay i’ll make it to the next party.” Why was that kind of reasoning so blatantly absent in high school?!

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8. You’ve learned how to say the word “no”.

In college you don’t care what other people think like you might have in high school. If someone offers you a drink and you don’t want it, you can say “no” and no one cares. If they do care, that is pretty weird. Other times you just can’t go out one night because you have a paper due at midnight. In high school it would have been the end of the world if you missed out on any event with friends. In college you don’t really care. You understand an A on an exam is going to get you further in life than a beach day with friends ever will. You’ve figured out by now that the key to failure is trying to please everyone, all the time.

9. You get along so much better with your parents and siblings.

I still have not found the explanation to this… but it seems to happen with everyone I know. The day you move out, the better your relationship becomes with your parents and siblings. All of the sudden, they seem so nice! Maybe you should have moved out earlier…

10. You have the opportunity to meet so many, different friends.

You’re not stuck in the same town with the same people who you have gone to kindergarten, elementary, and middle school with. In college, there are so many different people with different backgrounds, experiences, demographics; everyone seems so unique and interesting! This time around you DO have a choice of exactly who you want to be friends with. And by now, hopefully you have specifically learned what you appreciate in a friend and how to be an admirable friend in return.

11. You now realize, more than ever before, the type of person you want to be and the types of people you want to surround yourself with.

Yes, this realization is most likely due to a plethora of mistakes made in high school… but, without those past circumstances you would have never realized the kind of person you want to be today, or the kinds of friends you want to pursue. After all, “an un-examined life isn’t worth living.” There’s a gift in making mistakes because you get to regroup and come back even stronger.