I still remember receiving one of my high school yearbooks and noticing that the yearbook staff had taken one last jab at a graduating senior who’d spent four years as the butt of a lot of people’s jokes. They’d replaced his chosen senior quote next to his portrait with one proclaiming that he was the king of all nerds. Not funny or original, but still plenty mean-spirited.
Today, that former student is a graduate of Berkeley and Harvard Law School, and a bestselling author with a wife and family. His life is full enough that I’m sure he never thinks about (or even remembers) that last high school slight. But if he does, he must feel pretty triumphant.
For some students, high school is just about the most unpleasant experience that you’ll ever need to survive (surpassed only by junior high school for similar reasons). The good news is that you’re pretty much certain to find a different experience in college.
Yes, cliques, barbs, and social pressures still exist in college (far less so at some schools than others), but not nearly to the degree that they do in high school. Fitting in is an abstract concept in college. Between the diversity of backgrounds and interests, the maturity that comes after leaving high school, and the fact that there’s almost always someone at college who looks and acts weirder than you do means that there’s a place—and a group—for everyone.
My freshman dorm at college included two former high school football stars, a fan of Medieval Times who wore authentic clothing and jousted with fellow warriors, a drummer in a popular local band, a rock-climbing engineering major, a collegiate basketball standout, two fraternity members, three bespectacled pre-meds, a (computer) hacker, and a Marine Corps ROTC recruit. That was just on my floor alone.
Every college bound student has a lot to look forward to (here are 50 examples). And for some, the top of the list might be the opportunity to finally escape high school and be in a more accepting environment.
If that’s you, high school might seem like it’s lasting forever. But don’t worry. It will pass and eventually become just a distant memory in your life’s rearview mirror. Hang in there and look forward to the new world that college will present to you, one where you’ll have the freedom to be who you are and the opportunity to become who you want to be.