Learning to Move on (from High School)

Do you ever miss high school? The feeling of knowing everyone and everyone knowing you?

Do you miss being a leader at your school? Or having something you were good at and people knew you for whether it was music or athletics or debate or whatever else?

Maybe you were involved in a little bit of everything and miss the variety you had in activities.

I was blessed with going to a small school, so I was a band geek, tennis player, choir kid, scholars bowl member, and many more things. As someone who was on the homecoming court and won prom queen, which were both an honor but not a priority for me, I can confidently say, I miss high school.

I feel like I have turned into the person I made fun of in high school, the person that lived their best life in high school and can’t get past it. I never thought it would happen to me. I always thought college would be the place where I would feel like I belonged and made friends and discovered who I was, but I have never felt more lost or alone.

It turns out high school was a lot better than I thought it was while I was in it. I’m also learning that I don’t want to be the kind of college student I always imagined I would be. I know this sounds sad and depressing, but I am doing a lot better than I was my freshman year and I am starting to embrace being a college student. There are a lot of benefits of being a college student and I do not think it is horrible. I love the time I get outside of class and everything else about college. College is not a nightmare, I would rather be here at Hutchinson Community College than anywhere else, which has taken me a lot of time to be able to say.

But if you’re like me and having a hard time moving away from high school, here are my top tips that have helped me.

• Make the time to talk to new people, even if they don’t become your closest friends.
• Stay active, even if that is just once or twice a week. It’s good for you and it helps relieve stress.
• Try something new. Whether it’s your hairstyle, a hobby, a club, or something else.
• Stay connected with your old friends. Sometimes it is just nice to be with people that know you, the real you. Continue to make time for them.
• Listen to music. It makes you happy, keeps you awake, and it helps fill up some of that quiet time you have.
• Learn to accept the new you and this new stage of life. Make a few goals for yourself, just small ones, and enjoy the change.
• Remember that college doesn’t last forever. Enjoy the freedom, but if you hate college, just know it’s not the rest of your life.
• It’s OK to miss high school and simpler times. The important thing to note is it is the past and there is so much more going on in the present and so much to look forward to in the future.
• LIfe has more than one peak, and it’s OK to be sad when one ends.

Cassidy Peterson is a Haven sophomore studying Pre-Pharmacy. You can email her at thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

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