What I Wish I Knew Before I Started College

It's graduation season, and lots of Jersey Shore high school grads will be spending the next month or two enjoying their last hurrah before college...

If you're one of them, there's a few things you should know before you start the next chapter of your life!

1. The next four years will go by incredibly fast. Savor every second.
2. Be confident. It makes everything easier, from making friends to giving presentations in class. (Also, know the difference between confident and cocky.)
3. Know that out of all of your high school friends, after college, you may only still talk to one or two of them...and that's okay.
4. You might realize after two months (or six months, or two and a half years) that you hate your major and want to switch to something else. Give it some real thought, and then follow your heart. (I did, and I was fine!)
5. Transitioning from college to the 'real world' might be a lot harder for you than transitioning from high school to college. (I was nothing but excited when I first got to school, and didn't come home for three months because I loved it so much. After college? I had a bit of a quarter-life crisis...I got through that too.)
6. Some of your classes will be boring. You should still learn something from them.
7. Unless you instinctively wake up everyday at 6 a.m., you will regret scheduling an 8 a.m. Monday morning class.
8. You will probably drink too much and make stupid decisions. Try to make sure your stupid decisions don't hurt anyone else...or your own future.
9. No one is out of your league. (See #2.)
10. That said, that hot guy (or gal) that strings you along and treats you like crap is not worth your time or energy. TRUST ME.
11. Don't spend your time (or your 20s) looking for your future spouse. Focus on building a career, figuring out what you love to do, seeing the world, and enjoying the freedom of doing whatever you want, whenever you want.
12. Take the weird class. You never know when you'll have an opportunity to do something like that again.
13. Hang out with people who are different than you. It'll teach you more than you'll ever learn from a book.
14. Value your free time...you won't always have so much. (And if you have the chance to not have class on Fridays, take it!)
15. Appreciate being surrounded by so many people your own age. It will likely never happen again.
16. You'll be tempted to stress out about your grades a lot...but unless you're aiming for an advanced degree, your grades won't matter after you graduate. My first boss never once asked (or cared) about my GPA. (If you start failing your classes though, stop partying and get your act together!)
17. Take internships. As many as you can. The connections you make that way are INVALUABLE.
18. Don't blow all your money. You'll need it more 10 years from now. (And sacrifice as much as you can to pay your student loans as soon as possible. I assure you, you don't need to buy new clothes every three months. And you have enough shoes.)
19. Don't rush this phase of your life. You have PLENTY of time to be a full-blown adult, and it's not all it's cracked up to be.
20. Never let fear hold you back. Take the jump!

Best of luck to the Class of 2019!