After spending so many years in the secure environment of your parents house, with your parents as well as teachers breathing down your neck, the freedom of finally getting to college becomes quite a big event. High school students are constantly checked by their parents and teachers alike for any deviations, issues they may be facing at school, if their assignments are being completed on time, if the child is attending classes regularly, and much more. The students almost always have a path paved for them beforehand, with little flexibility as per their interests and desires.
New-found freedom
Come college, all of this suddenly changes, and students find a kind of freedom never before experienced. It’s an altogether new world for them, all spread before them to be explored. This beautiful world, apart from the obvious goal of providing them with a great education, is also going to leave behind some life long friendships and some very enriching experiences and lessons for life. In fact, there are very many things you can learn in college outside of the classroom.
Independence
The college life makes one independent, in the truest sense of the word. The students now realize that no one is going to run after them to make sure that they are attending all their lectures or that they are submitting their assignments on time. It is now their own duty that they become disciplined and take care of themselves, so that they can get what they want out of their lives.
Interactions and conversations
The college life also gives young adults a host of opportunities to interact with numerous people. Each of these conversations is going to teach them the protocol of interacting with people who are different than them or are beyond their comfort zone of familiar faces. The students will have to get into the habit of asking questions, receiving explanations, and deriving conclusions, all by themselves.
Adjusting and sharing
The new-found joy of freedom may be evened out a little when these students have to adjust to the lifestyle of sharing small rooms with other fellow students. They have to get up, sleep, eat, bathe, study, and basically do everything in their lives alongside other students. They must learn, therefore, to respect others and be able to compromise in order to live in harmony.
Responsibility
College life teaches students that they must be responsible for their own actions, from getting their homework done on time, to managing their expenses, to making sure they eat properly.
Managing relationships
One of the most important skills that college teaches students is how to manage their relationships, as they meet new people every day. College students have to learn to spell out their preferences within their friendships and relationships, and learn what it takes to be close to someone while always respecting them and remaining true to themselves.
College is indeed the one of the most exciting periods of our lives, and we will always cherish and look back at it, and the memories it gave us, fondly. Along with the fun, college brings so many responsibilities, goals, and lessons that we need to learn, which help to prepare us for the rest of our lives.
