Your parent’s put you in school at the age of 5. As you age you realize that school is just part of your daily life and there really is nothing you can do about it, except maybe be homeschooled. Anyways, you go through school trying to reach just one goal: make it to your senior year of high school, outcome being graduating and obtaining your high school diploma. What then?

So, here you are the beginning of your senior year you are the top dog, the alpha of your school. You are teaching the underclassman what being a senior is all about. You are preparing for homecoming, prom, and yes even that dreaded word, college. You are having the time of your life planning for your future. Then that day comes, graduation.  

You have spent all year preparing for this day, you have spent the last 13 years preparing for this day. This is an exciting day. You have accomplished graduating school. You have put in the hours of studying, you have had hours of fun with your friend’s, you have done the extracurricular activities, and now it is time for graduation.  

You go to your graduation and go to the after parties. You might even have an after party yourself. It is a day of celebration, as it should be. You should pat yourself on the back and you should thank whoever supported you while you accomplished this goal in life.  

At some point during high school or after graduation, you wake up and realize that you might be the top dog, the alpha now but roles are about to change. You are about to be at the bottom of the totem pole again and emotions start pouring.  

You realize that the friend’s you have grown up with are now going to be going to a different school then you. You realize that you will now be on your own and you are going to have to figure out how to make new friends. You realize that you and you alone are now responsible for your grades. You realize your life as a student has only started to begin.  

You spend what time you have left hanging with your friend’s, supporting them, and making promises that you will not ever not be friends. You each start planning as you choose the school you are going to attend, if you are going to participate in a sport, you start applying for scholarships and grants, you start feeling lost in the process. It starts to feel like you are only going through the motions with no emotions but the feeling of lost.  

It may even feel as though college is something that is just expected of you and for you not to go is just not an option. You are starting to second guess the career path you have chosen and start wondering if college is right for you.  

If you have chosen a college far from family, you start wondering if you have made the right decision to move so far away from family. Nerves kick in at full force, just like when you started kindergarten and you were nervous of leaving your parent’s for the first time. One very important thing to remember is everyone feels this way just some hide it better than others.  

As the end of the year approaches you start feeling more and more nervous about your future and if you have made the right decision. You really start second guessing yourself at this point. You are trying to have fun and prove you are still the alpha, but down deep you realize you are really just like a preschooler preparing for kindergarten.  

Do not allow your emotions to spoil what is supposed to be a happy occasion. You have accomplished what something that the majority of Americans today take for granted. Obtaining your high school diploma used to be somewhat challenging and not what everyone did. Allow your senior year to be the best year yet and worry about college after graduation.  

Actually, do not worry about college at all because in all honesty it is just like high school. However, I realize you are going to have to see it to believe it but just like kindergarten friend’s will be made and whether you stay friend’s with your high school friend’s or not, more than likely the friends you meet in college will be lifelong friends.  

You soon realize that everything you were worried about goes away. You realize that even though you are the underdog, you also kind of just blend in with the crowd. You realize you are taking classes with junior and senior’s and you are all there to accomplish the same goal to obtain a college degree.  

So, my advice to you is to not worry about having to start from the bottom again. You will honestly just blend in with the large class size. Enjoy your senior year and hang out with friends as much as you can. Go to the games and support your school team. Go shout in support until you do not have a voice. Go to the local pizza parlor or go bowling on the weekends. Have friend’s stay over at your house. Just have fun and let college be what college is.  

Do not worry about starting fresh like a kindergartener because even though there are similarities, starting college is a bit different than starting kindergarten. College you are put in classes with all age groups, kind of like what one room school houses used to be for school aged children. College is just another stepping stone and you will soon find yourself at the top only to find yourself right back at the bottom. There is always stuff to be learned.  

You may also like my post about what to do after college.