There are a couple of reasons why I didn’t immediately write about finals: (1) Laziness (2) I just got over finals and didn’t want to think about them (3) I needed time to reflect.

When I look back at it all, I honestly do not see any differences between finals at Foothill and finals at college. Aside from getting even fewer doses of sleep and only consuming Venti-sized Frappuccinos, the overall experience was exactly the same. I was still stressing, still slightly procrastinating, and, miraculously, still coming out on top. I couldn’t believe it; I was adamant in my belief that college would be even more intense than high school and there it was, being practically the same.

Contrary to popular belief, you never truly graduate from high school, and you never actually leave the high school “infused” environment.

I was completely convinced when leaving for college that I would be entering a different atmosphere. After all, how much can Ventura and the District of Columbia have in common? But little by little, I noticed that I was doing what I did back home. I would make a few circles of intimate friends, binge on Netflix, and not branch out enough. What was the result? Well for one, drama among circles of friends which supposedly are reserved for high school continued. I was lucky enough to notice it and change my habits so that I can experience more of college (i.e. joining a fraternity, venturing out into the city, going to the opera, etc.), but I still notice that my day-to-day encounters at college are extremely reminiscent of the very place I left just a few months ago.

If anything, college is just high school on steroids. Everything (prices, classroom size, drama, etc.) is inflated, but there isn’t much substance to back it up.

So, don’t think you’ve escaped just yet, seniors. If anything, prepare yourself for, well, the same thing. The only way you can truly expect to escape the scarring memories of high school is to unlearn everything you learned so that you may fully embrace new moments which await you in a hopefully very far away place.