I’m going to have you think back for a minute. It’s around June of your senior year of high school. You’re probably at one of the last big parties of your high school career and you’re sitting around with your friends at two in the morning. You’re all reminiscing on your high school careers and throwing around embarrassing stories from freshmen year. Then, in that very moment, you promise each other that nothing is going to get in the way of remaining the best of friends and staying in touch with each other when everyone goes their separate ways for college. Now fast forward to present day where you’re in college and are looking back as to how much things have actually changed.
Out of all my many friends and acquaintances from high school, I keep in touch with maybe handful or two of them. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and there’s certainly nothing wrong at all with keeping in touch with all of them. That being said, those who I do keep and touch with and even those who I don’t, I still love them dearly and have nothing but respect for them. It’s not about completely ditching some of the most important people in your life that you’ve known for the past 18 years, it’s about growing up. The point is though that college is the time where people grow the most and find out what they like and especially what they don’t like. High school was all about being told what to do and when to do it, where college is more about picking and choosing for yourself.
I found I started to really become distant with high school friends around the time alumni day came around at my high school. Everyone was doing their own thing and no matter how many times I told myself that everything was the same, it wasn’t at all. The reason for this is because when you go to college and you pick your major, you’re surrounded by people who share a common interest. These are the same people who you’re going to have almost every class with just because a similar goal brings you together. I’ve met some of the best people in my life just from going to college and being in the same classes as people. These are relationships that will carry on into the future.
Not only are the relationships you make in college important, but they also come in handy as a chance to network. You’re in a community where everyone wants to help each other to put out the best possible outcome, especially as a TV major. Meeting a variety of professors and maintaining a good relationship with them can pay off in the future as they can recommend you to people they know for future jobs. I think the best thing though about having a good relationship with college professors though is the fact that they will do everything in their power to help you succeed simply because they understand that you’re paying a lot of money to be in a particular major.
So as I look back to my high school days and compare them with my college ones, I’ve found that they might seem similar at first, but they are actually very, very different — but in a good way of course. High school was great and some people might have a harder time letting go than others, but college and the relationships you make there are just as amazing.