Time Flies When You're..... Growing Up??

I honestly think I've learned more in the one year that I've been out of high school than I did the whole four years I was there. Don't get me wrong, high school was... great... but I wouldn't trade my past year of experiences for the world!
I've come to the conclusion that nobody can teach you the in's and out's of college better than yourself. Everyone has such a different experience, because everyone has such a different focus. College life was like a slap in the face. Pretty much everything and everyone screams, "GO OUT AND DO IT YOURSELF, OR IT WON'T GET DONE!!!" in your face.
Nobody is there to push you along. Nobody cares if you fail. Nobody is going to "give you a break", nobody is going to care about your excuses, and nobody is going to give you a grade you didn't earn.
Throughout this year I have learned a lot.
*I learned that I can write an 8 page paper in just one very long night.
*I learned that writing letters during class instead of taking notes means a lot of studying for the final is in my future!
*I learned that if I log onto facebook when I am supposed to be doing homework my homework won't get very far at all!
*I learned that if you have to eat a bagel with butter it goes down a lot easier if you micro wave it for 5 seconds first.
*I learned that the institute vending machines produce the best meals!
*I learned that financial aide takes FOREVER to go through, but when you get your refund checks back it's worth all the stress it produced.
*I learned that game nights are the best! Never pass one up!
*I learned that crazy English teachers might just be the only thing that make you smile in a day!
*I learned that procrastination is not the answer!
*I learned that it's always smart to check, double check, and even triple check what days tests are on, and what days assignments are due.
*I learned that Christmas break is looked forward to almost as much, or sometimes even more than summer.
*But I think most importantly I have learned that I am strong enough to be pushed to my limits, do things that I need to do with little sleep or motivation, I am the only one who can make things happen for myself, institute sometimes is the only thing that keeps me going throughout the week, the most random things can make my day that much more fun, I don't care if I look like an idiot, I'm not ashamed of being myself.
This year has seriously flown by! I never imagined that I would be able to say that I had been graduated from high school for a whole year! I don't know where I'll be next year at this time, but I hope that I can say that I've learned even more silly things than I learned this year. I hope I can say that I've grown more and learned even more about myself. And I know that I will have many more amazing experiences with my amazing friends, and I know I'll make more friends to have even more life changing moments with!
This quote pretty much summarizes what I've been trying to write in this post...
"Do not wait; the time will never be ''just right.'' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."
--Napoleon Hill
I started this year not knowing what I was getting myself into. With a lot of perseverance I now feel like I've got some direction. And I couldn't be more grateful to myself, and the people who have helped me get where I am.