<p>Anybody here thinks that college is gonna be a new start for you? There are plenty that are gonna miss their friends but anybody hoping for fresh new start or want better social life...etc.</p>
<p>That was totally the case for me. I was the one who hated my high school, and choose a college I thought I would fit in. I was right and love it here. You can definitely start over. Just be yourself though...</p>
<p>Oh god, I HATE high school. I hate my social life here, I hate school in general here, and I'm perpetually in an emotional rut that I can't get out of because of my surroundings. College will definitely be the time for me to get out of it.</p>
<p>I had some troubles earlier in life, and most people never let that go.
I really do think college will be a chance to start fresh.</p>
<p>College is always a chance to start anew. I hated high school. I hated the racist hick town I lived in. Hated!! But now I've never been happier. People never really believe the amount of friends I have. Looks and stuff are still important to many but there are so many types and different groups that it is hard to differenciate and doesn't matter nearly as much. what matters, especially at a large university is the ability to be social, not necessarily outgoing, but social. That is the main difference. And if you hate high school just hold on. It won't be for too long.</p>
<p>Illini, were you discriminated against or did you just see it happening? I like high school but really want a new start. I have friends and everything but I'm not too close to anyone as to say i have a best friend. I've always felt on the outs of things sometimes but im glad to go to college.</p>
<p>my high school is ok but I think that college will be awesome.... I dont expect to have any trouble meeting new people and laying down networks</p>
<p>I tend to make friends slowly but once they're made... they are lifelong!</p>
<p>for example, I am still in really close touch with this one friend who dropped out of hs in NY and got a GED and is now working in a law firm and living completely on his own. Even though our lives took different paths since middle school I still consider him a close friend</p>
<p>I also consider a close personal friend someone who got into some academic troubles(but is now on the rebound!) and looking forward to IU</p>
<p>I tend to have lots of acquaintances but a few close true friends who will back me up no matter what! As I'll do for them:)</p>
<p>Hated high school.. but love college. Except when the school screws you over financially and with course selection.. but that's a whole other topic.</p>
<p>I had a great high school experience. I wasn't one of the "popular kids" but I was up there and had a great group of friends who I still talk to all the time. I had so much fun in high school! I'm glad I didn't have one of the hellish experiences...</p>
<p>But I also love college!</p>
<p>Both are great experiences, and as you make the transition you'll change-- no matter what. It can be tough (friendships fading, etc) but you get to meet so many new and interesting people who challenge you and reveal whole sides of yourself you never knew existed.</p>
<p>It's good ****.</p>
<p>I didnt have a hellish experience b/c I wasnt popular but I basically could talk to anyone and regularly did. I was really more unhappy than I thought I was. I wasn't a fan of freshman year but I was very involved sophomore and junior year and loved school. Senior year was a little different althought I had many friends, they all left me for the drink during senior year b/c they werent really my friends anyways. I still did stuff and gained a bunch of new friends (musical) but they already were together so I never quite fit in.</p>
<p>Plus I never felt my school appreciated me. I did a ton of stuff but never got any awards b/c they were given to teachers kids and pets and I was not one. Although the teachers that could see through the troublemaking (nothing serious just ADHD stuff) loved me but there wasn't enough (plus there were a few that downright hated me to the point where they had stopped speaking or even looking at me) to make it seem like I was well liked by the staff. I was a dean's office regular. Now all of my profs and TAs love me, it is very different to finally have profs that not only recognize my intelligence but as a good student too.</p>
<p>So all in all, my high school experience wasn't bad, I just didn't feel respected, befriended, or appreciated enough. In comparison to college I think it makes me look back on high school with so much more frustration than what really happened as far as friends and my experience goes. It wasn't horrible, just in comparison.</p>
<p>And, steaky, yes I was discriminated against, not horribly but I felt out of place. I hate my town more than my school in that area tho. At U of I it isn't a surprise to see a person of color so that doesn't really factor in anymore.</p>
<p>u sound like me illini</p>
<p>I had trouble adjusting to high school early on but really found myself junior year. I was miserable for the most part the first two years though.</p>
<p>I'm really scared going to college, I really hope it doesn't take me two years to adjust again (if it seems like it willl, I'll transfer before that) but then again, I like to think I've changed in the past four years.</p>
<p>illini, can i ask you what race you are if that was why you were discriminated against. I live in southern california and have never felt discriminated against because it's so diverse over here. (BTW, im asian)</p>
<p>I am Hispanic and don't feel discriminated against at U of I. But in my little farm town I hated it. It was the worst when at work and while driving b/c the cops followed you based on race.</p>
<p>geez. that's horrible. i always wondered what it was like for a minority in the south since it's heavily populated with caucasians. guess im better off not knowing.</p>
<p>i really hope you are right. i think my problem is that i'm not always social as i should be and that i wait to late. like right now it's junior year, and i think it's too late to try to find a best friend/social group. that's why i can't wait to college. hopefully i won't make the same mistakes</p>
<p>i agree wannagotocornell. i think that it's really hard once groups have been set up. they have like history and stuff. like i have friends but it's so hard to actually be completely integrated. b</p>
<p>Yeah I came from a Catholic junior high and the groups were set and reset with me never seeming to be completely in them. I was invited to stuff but I dont know. It just sucked. Plus it wasn't even in the south but the area I live in of IL is very racist and stupid. A few of my friends owned confederate flags which is stupid b/c IL was a north state. A few towns over had the latest largest KKK rally in years and the next over the other way has a reputation for threats to black families living in the town and police corruption along those lines. The whole thing is ridiculous b/c the area I live in is one of the fastest growing areas in IL and when I went back I saw a surprising amount of black students. Hopefully things will change.</p>
<p>Try Hawaii where people reallllllllly hate you just because you can speak proper English, and the cops pull you over for "speeding" if you're white, even if you're going the speed limit. :D</p>
<p>I'm a loner and always will be a loner. I'm happy this way so :P</p>