Why college is super great

I have just completed my first semester of college and these things have been on my mind as I reflect. 

1. You interact almost exclusively with people your own age.

You live with them, you hang out with them, you study with them -- even when you need to deal with something serious, you're often talking to someone no more than a few years older. I love this because we're all in the same boat and figuring things out together.

2. Professors might take an interest in you

If you stand out from the crowd professors will notice and now this actually matters. You can get papers published, get jobs, and other cool opportunities from impressing a professor. Perhaps this is more likely at a small school like Hamline, but it can and does happen anywhere.

3. You make so many decisions on your own

Day to day decisions of course, and bigger decisions such as what classes you're taking and what you plan to major in. The freedom is both exciting and relaxing.

4. Weekdays are fun

This was probably the biggest thing for me. I'm not actually in class for very much time, and all my classes are fairly spread out. In between classes and after classes I get to hang out with friends and we almost always do our homework together. In high school I really lived from weekend to weekend, but in college the week is fun in and of itself.

5. Weekends are even better

Going out is great, but my favorite part of the weekend is brunch on Saturday and Sunday morning with the squad, trying to piece together exactly what happened the night before. We've sat in our cafeteria for up to three hours, waiting for friends to arrive and bring their own piece of the story.

6. It's a fresh start

While the concept of a fresh start is somewhat deceiving, there are ways that you can take advantage of it. It isn't feasible or even wise to change yourself completely, but it's a good idea to think about how you want to be perceived. It's also really easy to be out if you weren't able to be out in high school. That's something I and friends of mine have really enjoyed. Meeting a lot of new people also means that you can tell all your best stories again. But don't be frustrated if you end up being sort of the same as you were before -- the real you will probably be appreciated more now.