The Transition from High School to College

When I first stepped foot into high school on the first day of school, I was incredibly excited for the next four years of my life to begin. High school meant freedom, driving, football games, and many more privileges. Along with all the great things came the added stress, increase in homework, and the importance of grades. However, in general high school was an exciting change.

Looking back, I see how minuscule the change was in comparison to the transition from high school to college. When you go to college, you leave everything that you have ever known to live in a small dorm room with a complete stranger and learn from some of the best professors in the entire country. For some people, the change is even more dramatic. One of my friends decided to attend college in Tennessee. This requires a plane ride and is much more difficult to return home. Lucky for me, Middlebury is only four and a half hours away. I can come home for the holidays and even for a long weekend. Even though I took four APs my senior year and another class that was equivalent to an AP, the amount of homework and studying required to do well on tests is significantly more than what I am used to. Here, you have nobody to motivate yourself but you. You are alone and are solely responsible for how your future turns out. If you choose to party every night and not do homework, then it is your fault when you don’t get into Harvard Law. However, it also works the other way. When you work your butt off and get into your dream graduate school or land the job you have always wanted, you have yourself to congratulate. All in all, I believe college is what you make of it. I have heard many people say that college is some of the best four years of their life. To quote Eminem, “if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted. One moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?