Graduating from high school and going to college marks a new chapter in one’s life. For many students, this new chapter brings many new challenges and adjustments.
Challenges face every person during new chapters in life; college is not an exception. During senior year, this idea of freedom begins. Many students are so close to being on their own, they cannot help but try to start to spread their wings. This may mean thinking curfew does not apply or beginning to think it is not required to tell our parents what we are doing all of the time.
Some of the challenges that face parents are letting us go and questioning how well they have prepared us for college. For many parents, letting us go is hard even if they have already sent a sibling off to school. Even though many parents realize it is time, letting go is very hard. They cannot believe we are eighteen years old; to them, it seems like just yesterday they tied our shoes, held our hands while crossing the street, and took us to our first day of kindergarten. While at school, we will not have our parents holding our hand the entire way ensuring we have studied for that big test, completed that one hundred-point project, or have even completed daily homework assignments that may not be a big percentage of our final grade. It is up to us to be responsible by ensuring we stay on top of our schoolwork and preparing for tests as best we can.
One of the biggest differences going from high school to college is living in a dorm. Many of us have probably never done our own laundry before and the washers and driers at most schools probably are not even automatic. Another aspect of dorm life which students are not accustomed to is sharing a room. Living in a dorm means you may not be able to leave your dirty laundry scattered in piles all over your floor and leave your stuff all over the place. In some schools, students are also required to clean their own bathroom if living in a suite style. Many of us probably do not know how to even unclog a toilet and would either have parents or perhaps a maid clean our bathroom at home. Can you imagine how messy some of our rooms will be if we are required to clean our bathroom, wash our clothes, and wash our sheets?
This next chapter is going to be an exciting time for all of us. We will have to acclimate to a new environment, learn in different ways, and tackle some of the challenges we will face during our freshmen year.