Any upcoming college freshman and high school kids will hear the infamous line, “College will be the best four years of your life”. Well, I am here to attest to that claim. Except, in Drexel’s case, the best five years.
There are so many reasons that college will be the best time of your life. For starters, college is a fresh start – a fresh palette and a clean slate. To begin, you can place your finger anywhere on the map that you could ever think up, and there will be a college for you to attend there. If you wanted to live in California? There’s some pretty dope colleges there. Looking to go somewhere cold for four years full of skiing? University of Colorado at Boulder! Before college even begins, you decide exactly what you want and decide where is best for you from there. If you love big football games and tailgating barbecues, then state colleges will make all your dreams come true. Big time city girl? City schools give you the four-year college experience while being immersed in a city that is entirely freely yours to explore.
For me, at least, I am quite the city girl; I never saw myself going anywhere else other than being in a city. I dreamed of being blocks away from Center City to explore art museums, endless shopping, the urban lifestyle and all the trendiest places in the world popping up in popular cities. I knew how much I loved Philadelphia and was dying to live there, so Drexel seemed perfectly tailored to fulfill my dreams.
In college, no one tells you what to do, and I don’t mean that in a “freedom” lifestyle kind of way (it’s that way too, don’t worry), but no one forces you into anything you aren’t passionate about. If you love art, there’s 500 courses on drawing, painting, designing, art history – all the classes you were dreaming of taking in high school, but couldn’t. If you’re a business woman kinda-gal, then there’s marketing, finance, accounting – all courses tailored to exactly what you want to do in life. It’s so refreshing coming out of high school to be able to finally start learning about what really interests you and helps you build a career path for the future of your dreams.
Another thing you will learn from college is a newfound appreciation. You learn to appreciate the holidays and long weekends when you get to see your family. You learn that time is valuable and spending time with the people you love is a virtue. If college teaches you anything, it’s that being away from home and family is one of the hardest things you will have to do when growing up. When you do see your family, you are grateful to have the time with them and see the people you care about.
The saying also goes that you meet your soulmate in college; this part could not be more true. While of course they are talking about finding a life partner, I mean that it will bring you the whole mass of people you will want to spend the rest of your life with. This goes for a life partner, but also just your absolute best friends. You make connections with people you didn’t know were possible. You’ll become closer than ever with the most unfamiliar people and build such strong relationships. You meet the people who become your bridesmaids, who you will call your sisters, who care so deeply about you and love you in a way you’ve never known before. Most of the shallow relationships you had will get left behind in high school, and you’ll soon cut them off when you realize the bonds you can build in college. The same goes for dating – you won’t hang on to anyone who doesn’t help you grow as a person and make you better. That’s what college will bring you.