I pride myself on being someone who is very prepared. I make to-do lists, packing lists, and run through many scenarios in my head about how something could play out beforehand. However, there were many aspects of college life that did not occur to me until I got here.

A few weeks into school, I was running through the rain with my friends trying to get to the dining hall so we could eat breakfast before our first class. It occurred to me—I had not thought I would need to be trekking through the rain in order to get anywhere. This may sound silly, but in high school, I could get everywhere without going outside at all. In this way, the rain was only a problem when I was going off campus for lunch. Now, if the weather is terrible, I will debate whether going to meals in the dining hall is even worth it.

I have been taking care of my own laundry and helping take out the trash for a while at home, so I was not expecting much difference when I came to college and had to continue those tasks. What I quickly learned, though, is it is so much more of a hassle to do those simple chores here, as I have to schedule a specific time for those tasks. When it comes to laundry, living on the top floor of my building does not help — stairs are annoying when you walk up and down them seventeen times a day. Then, to take out the trash, I have to walk all the way from that top floor and across the SoHo quad. In comparison, at home, I did not have to worry about leaving my laundry unattended in the machines for hours, and the furthest I had to walk with my trash was up the driveway.

Those are all minor inconveniences, but there are also many good things about college I did not anticipate. Being in college means constantly being around people. While there are both good and bad effects; I love how there seems to be an unspoken understanding that people want to work together. In high school, we were all together for seven hours, and then we would go our separate ways. When you are living, practicing sports, learning, and working in the same vicinity with the same people every day, it creates a unique opportunity to support and collaborate with one another.

What was even more surprising was how the specific cliques prevalent in my high school are way less noticeable. Students are, in general, far more willing to be friends with others outside their immediate circle of friends. Even the whole dynamic between upperclassmen and underclassmen is better — people do not seem to care as much. People are also not associated with only one activity they are involved in because most are doing so many things and are friends with so many different people that the “labels” of high school do not work in college.

I was also not ready for the close relationship between students and teachers. This may be part of “The Furman Advantage,” but, coming into college, I was not sure what this advertised relationship would look like. I see now that it is students and professors working more as equals with the goal of pushing students to grow as much as they can. With that, I have realized that college is much more about learning and less about grades. Getting good scores is still important, but grades are not the focus of the classroom. For example, in high school, my friends and I would check our grades on PowerSchool an almost concerning amount, whereas now I am not sure what my overall grade averages are—I just know I am working hard and being challenged.

These examples are only a few of the many more subtle differences I have noticed between my high school experience and college so far.