It’s only natural to feel a little nostalgic for your old high school. You know it inside and out. You spent some of the most formative years of your life there. Now that it’s time to take that exciting next step, keep reading for some signs that, maybe, you’re starting to miss high school already!
You actually look forward to it, too. You want to see the campus – see if anything’s changed after construction, or see if it is exactly the same as it was when you attended. You visit your old teachers, whom you used to hate, but now you guys are buddy-buddy, and you bring food for those underclassmen. You have to get a visitor’s pass, which is unusual for you because you used to roam around the campus totally normally without worrying about looking like a trespasser.
First of all, the fact that you’re even looking into your drawers for your old letters is a sign you’re missing your teenage years. It was heartfelt when you received those letters, and it’s heartwarming when you’re reading it now.
They used to pay for your clothes, school lunches, fees for clubs, etc. Now, they want you to make your own bank account and pay for some of the utilities yourself. Sure, they might pitch in (for a majority) of your tuition, but they expect you to get a job and fend for yourself as well. They are slowly weening you off, and you miss the good old days.
Okay, high school definitely had its nasty lunches that are pretty questionable. However, there are some foods that were actually pretty damn legit, and unfortunately, aren’t found in stores. It hurts to know you can’t ever get it again conveniently, even if you’ve reached your limit in craving it.
You hated school buses during high school. They were always jam-packed and sticky with all that built-up body heat from so many passengers. However, it was always a sign of going on a field trip, and that was a nice, occasional getaway from the usual lectures in class. You realize that you’re never going onto a field trip again, and you actually find yourself longing to get back in a bus again for one last time.
Underclassmen tend to use social media as their platform to advertise/talk about the clubs and organizations that they are part of. If you’re connected with them in any way, you can see their posts, and it stings your heart to know that you are not part of that any longer. You miss the annual events of the club you participated in, and the people you met and worked with. That club/organization was basically part of your entity, and you lost a little bit of yourself when you left high school.
In most high schools, everyone’s schedules were set so that lunch was at the same period. You and your friends all have different schedules throughout the day, which means you guys can’t eat together anymore. You might eat by yourself, which is completely normal in college, but it’s just kind of sad.
Everyone had at least one go-to teacher on campus who was basically like their friend. You stopped seeing them on a daily basis, and kind of miss them. You wonder how they are doing, and if they’re still teaching the same curriculum that they taught you.
You knew this campus like the back of your hand. You could be blindfolded and still navigate each and every classroom effortlessly. You miss the strange smell of paint that oozes from the gym, the scent of the carpet in the MPR, and beautiful murals dedicated from previous alumni.
Teachers spoon-fed you material, and gave you exactly the homework that you need to prepare for quizzes and tests. Professors, on the other hand, don’t really give a shit. They lecture, do what they’re paid to do, and are not personally attached to students, as there are literally hundreds of them. You have to go to your professors whenever you need additional help.
You hang out with your friends at the usual spots, in attempts to relive the high school life. It brings you back to when you were younger, and more carefree. It’s a nice feeling, yet it somewhat disturbing in that there’s definitely something different about hanging out there now. And it is.
For four years, you used your lock to bolt up your locker and it prevented theft. You don’t really have any use for your lock anymore, and it’s awkward that you kind of feel attached to your lock. You know exactly how to swivel that center to unlock it, and it’s funny to think back and reminisce about the first few times you used it, and wondered if you’d ever get used to it.
Everything is bigger in college. The campus is huge and unfamiliar, and you haven’t felt so intimidated in years. All that you wish for is that you find your way to your classes, and that you could get in a time machine and go back. Everything was where it was supposed to be in high school, and you were used to it. You appreciate your teen years much more when you reach such a low at your new school.
The cool kids, jocks, nerds, and emo kids. You categorized every person you knew into those social classes, and you silently ranked their popularity. You knew which people you considered “best friends,” and those you considered as just “friends.” You knew what people were known for, and you knew where you belonged as well. When you get to a college, you have to start all over and make new friends that you think are compatible with you.
Admittedly, your high school had some amazing dances. The music got everyone lit, and the atmosphere was set properly by the leaders and ASB members. You ask your friends to see whether they’d be down to go with you, and they agree because they’re stuck in the same position as you are. But you don’t actually go. That’s just weird.
You actually have to meet new people and befriend them because you’re in a new environment filled with a myriad of strangers. You’re so used to being with the same people that you forget what to say to appease your acquaintances and how to be socially acceptable (because you act however you want with your friends and you know they will tolerate your bullshit).
Every bit of where you’re from details at least a tiny aspect of your high school years. Maybe you headed to that park to film a video project, or frequented that Starbucks to study for finals. Whatever it may be, you knew every nook and cranny that your town had available for you, and to leave the place you are most familiar with is daunting.
You start to realize that you guys aren’t going to be around each other constantly for much longer, and you take the time to think about how much you really, really love them. In high school, you never really thought about such things, but it’s really starting to hit you now. You have years of memories with those people, and you hope to continue that streak forever.
High school was a breeze – you didn’t even have to read the books that the teachers assigned, you could just look it up on Sparknotes and you’d still be able to pass your tests! However, in college, you can’t use Sparknotes; the site does not have those specific books that you’ll need to learn about. You actually have to read it, which makes school life way harder than it was.
You sneak into the parking lot and stroll around the campus, with memories flooding over you. You remember how everything felt, how you walked across the quad absolutely dreading that next boring class, or getting turnt in the gym during the back-to-school-dance. This was a place you literally grew up in, and it’s where you really transitioned from an awkward child to a young adult.
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