Good-byes have led to new beginnings. Memories, sad and happy, had made us laugh and cry. Time had passed to make us see things would never be the same again. College is here and we surely miss our cherished high school life.

It all seems as if it was just yesterday. I was a happy-go-lucky individual who doesn’t take my studies too seriously and was after fun and enjoyment most of the time. But that was high school, and this is high school no longer. I am now in another level of my academic endeavor, I am now in COLLEGE.

For us freshmen, high school was just too recent. Looking back may sometimes leave some of us in nostalgia, in a maze of conflicting emotion. Somehow, it still holds some things that made it difficult fro some of us to move on. Memories, regrets, disappointments and what ifs. All of us have them. But the fact is, high school had already bid goodbye, and we cannot do anything about it now. All we’ve got to do is to start anew and begin our college life with enthusiasm and renewed vigor and faith.

Actually, it took me sometime before I can finally cope with all the changes tertiary education had introduced to my life. Adjustment was the name of the game. Some things I’ve been used to for the past four years have to be changed. I have to cope with what college life has to offer. I have to make adjustments within myself to be able to belong to my new environment. I have to face and overcome problems I’ve never encountered before. I have to be seriously and faithfully diligent with my studies. And I have to learn to live independently. Now, this is what you call SERIOUS. The problem is…most of us have never been serious before.

Madness, cramming, and endless preparations for oral tests and for the final exams? Written reports and reaction papers’ deadlines?

Sigh…sigh. And I never thought October could be a month of academic torture until I got a dose of them stated above my first semester of my first year in college. But I’m looking forward for more challenges as my stay here in college proceeds on. Wish me luck, though.

And how I miss many things from high school! I miss my classmates, my friends and my barkada. I miss my teachers, my high school Alma Mater. And honestly, I even miss my mortal enemy. I miss our debates, our bickering; our daily fights over small things. I miss all the special persons of my high school life. And in college, I find myself comparing people to them. I made my high school classmates the standard for the norm. I kept on searching for people who resemble my high school friends in personality and in character. When I am disappointed with the people around me, the first thought that would enter my mind is, “if only I’m with my high school friends today, things won’t be this way.” I became the slave of the quest fro friendship that is a mirror reflection of high school. I am crazily filled with the yearning for a friendship that is based on the standard that is based on the standard of my high school barkadas. In the end, all I’ve got is disappointment and pain. Loneliness because of a friendship that bloomed too soon, and is now withering too early, as a single petal yet to feel the glory of the bloom is carried away by the wind into a solitude all by it own. But somehow, I felt enlightened by the realization that due to our individual differences you’ll never meet the same kind of persons again, however how many times you got reincarnated. That’s why never take for granted your friends, for you’ll never encounter people of their kind again here on earth. And a relationship that came into being in a spontaneous way is sometimes not worthy of trust. For a true friendship is built over the passage of time, and a relationship established too early concealed too may tricks and twists yet to reveal themselves. And I owe my first semester in college thanks for this understanding. Thank you.

But academic tortures and friendship dilemma is not all. Unlike during high school, college feels as if our grades are not just a part, but the totality of our makeup as a teenager or young adult. For now our grades will bear a domino effect to whatever the future may hold for us. The pressure is really on.

Most of us may have been suffering from the “I am my Grades Syndrome.” During high school, this is just generally prevalent over those students in the pilot classes, or over those students vying for recognition and fighting their way to the stage for honors. Grades then were grades fro some. But now, grades bore a more apparent significance in our life. Usually, grades are viewed as the biggest factor on the great road to a successful adult life.

But let me tell you some ironic facts from the world of business. Fifty percent of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies had a C or C-average in their cards. And half of the millionaire entrepreneurs all over the world have never finished college.

Meanwhile, 65% of all US senators were from bottom half of their school classes, while 75% of US Presidents were in the lower half of their class.

Can it be that the statistics is trying to tell us something? Does good grades lead you to a sure way to success? Does having poor grades means an unsuccessful future? Before you react to my musings, I’ve got more interesting facts to tell. But to these questions, you are the judge.

What do Michael Jordan, Dr. Seuss, Henry Ford and Albert Einstein have in common? Yes, they are all famous individuals. And yes, all of them didn’t got it right the first time.

Michael Jordan got out from his high school basketball team. Twenty-tree publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’ first children book. Henry Ford forgot to put a reverse gear in his first car. And Albert Einstein flunked the college entrance exam on his first try.

And I’ll tell you, many people just don’t start it right. Some freshmen (including me) found it out at the end of our first semester, when our grades just don’t satisfy other people’s expectations.

Remember, there is always a second chance. This was manifested in Jordan, Seuss, Ford and Einstein’s cases. Still, a good start is better than late repentance.

A good grade is a result of a responsible living. In college, responsible living goes hand in hand with independent living. For most of us freshmen, this is the area that needs the most time for adjustment. I’m still to experience living independently (I mean living in a boarding house and all), and I am sure it would be a life-changing experience but I still, I can’t imagine myself living my everyday life without my mother and without the comforts of my own home. Some of my friends say, I’m blessed coz I don’t need to stay away from home just to study. Sometimes I agree. Yet, there are also times when I yearn for that learning experience for that learning experience one can only get from living away from home. You learn about almost everything you need in preparation for your adult life. And yes, you experience more freedom. Nevertheless, it is not easy, especially during the first months of your stay. Some may feel like they are toddlers trying to learn thins all over again. Some may feel like quitting because of delayed allowance, water problems, noisy board mates and boarding houses. Looking at the 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th year students make us realize that we could also survive. Some even will be over the angst of the traditional period by 2 nd semester of our first year. Hooray, freshmen!

This is what life is all about after high school. All things are serious.

By this time, most of us have already coped with the many changes college has introduced to our lives. Finally, we have learned to live life after high school!

There are still so many things waiting for us as journey goes on. We are not yet even through one-fourth of our quest. We should say good luck and welcome ourselves to the last phase of our academic journey. Let us welcome ourselves to college.