After high school, my expectations towards college were tempered with the stereotypes shown on television and movies. After my first week there, though, I came to recognize a startling number of differences -- college is completely different from high school.

In high school I was surrounded by kids my own age who shared the same experiences as myself, but in college I found myself surrounded by people of different ages from various high schools and cultural backgrounds. This made it harder to connect with anyone on campus.

Another thing I noticed was the "uncensored classroom". In high school, the teachers were bound by what they could teach and what they couldn't, along with what they could say and what they couldn't. In college, the professors own the classroom and can pretty much teach and say whatever they want. Imagine my surprise when my professor actually cursed! I never expected that to happen.

The classroom setting in college differs greatly from high school. If you remember, in high school we were taught to keep our mouths shut and raise our hands when we needed to speak. Listening to our own opinions and our own thoughts is not on the high school teacher's agenda, nor is it ours to discover them. But in college, there is a thing called the "participation grade," where the professors demand to hear our opinions during a discussion. In College we are forced to find our voice and to think independently.

I feel like I've entered a whole new world of untapped knowledge. What we are taught in high school is nothing but the basics in comparison to what can be learned in college. Even though I orginally approached college with uncertainty, I realize now that there was nothing to be anxious about. It's a brave new world to explore!