During my high school years, the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night dance and who I was taking. Although college was talked about, it was the least of my worries. When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school, my older brother was graduating twelfth grade and going onto college. For my graduation, he gave me a card in which he wrote, "Enjoy your four years..., they go by fast." I remember not believe him then, but looking back..., he was right. Those four years shaped who I was as a person, pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult. However, I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school, that when someone spoke of college I brushed it off. I wasn't ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like . Studying was something I did only AFTER I nailed my half-time dance performance. I knew my parents wanted me to go to college, so I told them I would go to commuity college  and I didn't worry about my SAT scores. When my senior year passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own college ,I started to wish I had done the same. My friends were living away, meeting new people, discovering new places, and I was living at home and driving to and from class every day. It seemed exactly like high school. I hated it! I thought college was supposed to be different! Why didn't I take more time to research colleges and do the same? I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus atmosphere instead of two. My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into all of your choices well ahead of time. Now I have graduate and I am working full time and I would do anything to go back to my high school days for a second chance! When in high school, the author  _  .
drove to and from class every day buried himself in his study all the   time enjoyed talking about future college   life lived in the school except on   holidays