2015 is upon us. Stores have sold out their Christmas-themed merchandise, and stretching out after finals is the beauty of winter break.
As a college freshman who started out 2014 as a high school senior, I’m finding that final exams feel way harder in college than they did in high school, and not only because the exam locations are farther. But despite all the all-nighters spent cramming and late night stress-eating, I’m still thankful I’m here – the journey has been nothing short of amazing. In vague chronological order, here are ten lessons I learned last year:
1. Senioritis is very, very real.
When I was a junior, everyone told me junior year would be the hardest year of high school, and once I was done, I’d be as free as a bird. Turns out first semester of senior year was even more difficult, but that only made my second semester senior life more sweet. Ah, yes. Freedom.
But seriously, there will be days you slump around at home knowing full well how much work you have to do (especially if you have AP classes — those don’t magically vanish when second semester starts) but lacking the motivation to do it. “It doesn’t matter anyway, as long as I don’t fail,” you’ll tell yourself, and then find yourself cramming it in the night before again. I even walked into an AP exam unprepared, but don’t do things like that. Now that you know senioritis exists, you’ll (hopefully) be better prepared to combat it.
2. Friends with cars are the best!
Or…just get your license. I know it’s different from state to state, but in mine, you have to be 15 and a half years old to get your permit which wasn’t well-timed for me, so I got my permit late and didn’t even manage to get my license by the end of senior year. My high school also had an open-campus policy during lunch, so it became habit for seniors with cars to go out for lunch. Put those together and what do you get?
Unfortunately, I had neither car nor license, but luckily I had friends who did. It’s a little sentimental, but going out to lunch with them really felt like I was taking my first steps out of the nest and into a more independent future. Go out for meals with just your friend group, or take yourself out on a date — treat yourself. More of it awaits you in college!
3. College rejections aren’t the end of the world. Seriously.
My AP Literature teacher told us this, one day after we were going over our in-class essays and the air was buzzing with tension because Regular Decisions application results were set to come out in the coming weeks. My fellow students and I were stressed and short-tempered, worried out of their minds, and everything in between, trying to keep it all under wraps and pretend we didn’t actually care that much. But of course we did – we’d spent the past four years working towards these results.
“But seriously,” my teacher told us, “I know you all aren’t in a position to see this yet but it really doesn’t matter that much. You’ll all get into good universities, and the school you go to for your undergraduate degree is important for only so long.” And as I embark on my college journey and meet juniors and seniors, graduated students, alumni, I’m beginning to realize the truth of her words. So what if I didn’t get into an Ivy League, or my dream school? I love my university now, and I know as I progress through my career, my hard work and experience will come to replace my alma mater. This is no way the end of the road.
4. All-nighters are unnecessary evils.
Speaking of AP Lit, I decided it was a good idea to procrastinate to the point that I was forced to annotate a 500-page book in one night for the research paper check-in. Seriously, not a good idea. (Luckily, I’ve learned from my mistakes and even figured out how to kick my procrastination habit.) And looking back, I realize that all-nighter was completely unnecessary. If I’d broken down the book and annotated a few chapters per night, or started a week earlier, I would’ve slept perfectly fine that night. But I guess that comes with the territory of senior year! The sleep debt that lasts for the rest of the week just isn’t worth it, so stay on top of things even though the pull of senioritis is strong.
5. Senior prom is definitely worth it!
At least for me, it was a pretty big event – my first time at a formal dance with a date and the whole corsage-boutonniere deal. For those of you who haven’t attended a school dance and even for those that do, go to senior prom! It’s a memory you don’t want to miss out on making, with everyone decked in their best and emotional mothers click-clicking on that camera shutter, and I had a lot of fun. If you’re on the fence about it, please consider going, because this is the last dance of your high school life and you may never see some of these people ever again.
6. You only graduate from high school once.
Continuing in that vein, graduation is truly the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae for your high school experience. After all those days out in the sun for graduation practice, here you are in your robes and your cap, and surrounded by people you’ve spent over the past four years with. Maybe seven. Maybe more.
For me, crossing the field (we were outside on the football turf) and stepping onto the stage to receive my diploma, solid proof I’d finished high school, was a little surreal. Even when I returned to my seat and held it in my hands, watching my friends do the same, I couldn’t really believe it. I wouldn’t have to wake up and walk to school and retrieve my books from my locker ever again? I’d never sit in my teachers’ classrooms or eat the lunch of my school’s cafeteria again, or sift through the books in the library, or attend a football game? Instead, I had new lecture halls and library bookshelves and football stadiums ahead of me. In that moment, it was a lot to take in, and I wasn’t sure whether I was ready for it yet. But I had all summer vacation to get used to the idea!
7. Do something rewarding with your summer.
For some reason, I was determined to do something with my summer vacation, whether it was travel or work or learn something new. What I wound up doing was an internship at Chegg! And I must say it’s the best summer I’ve spent so far, because it pushed me to grow and start building my resume already. (Of course, travelling and bonding with your friends for one last crucial time is just as important, and I wish I’d done more of them but sacrifices have to be made sometimes.)
Even more importantly, however, was one key takeaway I took from my working experience – and it was insight: knowledge, opening my eyes to the future. I’d been so worried about college that I lost sight of what was to come. Plenty of people at my company, even the upper-level executives, had gone to get their undergraduate degrees in something mostly or completely unrelated to what they were working in now. It’s all about opportunities, networking, and always moving forward.
8. Don’t pack for college last-minute!
I definitely didn’t learn this lesson in time! I was packing until the very night before Move-In Day, and my parents definitely weren’t amused about that. Packing last-minute runs the dangerous risk of forgetting essentials behind, and especially if you’re going out of state and can’t have your parents deliver to you, you don’t want to be forgetting things. Start a couple weeks in advance, and here’s a nifty list to get you started.
9. Join clubs when you get to college (and stay for the people).
I go to a massive public school, which definitely terrified me, especially since I’d always wanted to go to a small liberal arts school instead. Yeah, things didn’t go the way as planned. But the key about big schools is clubs make that big school feel small. Seriously. Once you get to know people and bond with them over your shared interest, whether it’s dance or health or puppies, you’ll start recognizing them around campus and wave hi. Or grab dinner with someone you would’ve never met otherwise, or study with someone in the same classes as you. Other groups of friends can be your floormates, people from the same high school as you, and from Greek life.
With the first semester winding down, I see people who overcommitted themselves and did four or five major groups on campus, out of fear that they’ll miss out on something. For me, I poured myself into one club, which I’m planning to dedicate myself to next semester as well. The quality of the people you meet is what makes or breaks the deal, I’ve discovered, and I think the people I know from my one club are the best people I’ve ever met.
And 10. Keep your mind open and try new things.
Whether it’s a club centered around something you’ve always been interested in, or a group of people who love something you’ve never known before, there is so much to be offered on campus at your future college. You’ll never know whether it’s your thing or not unless you give it a shot. Don’t let doubts get in your way and don’t get intimidated, because people who are scary at first can turn out to be warm and friendly, too (I speak from experience!).
So go out there and face life head-on! Your 2015 awaits.
What are you looking forward to in 2015? Tell us in a comment below.
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