> > I'm scared to death. In 4 months, I'll be officially a senior. In 7 months, my brother will be gone forever (except for vacations). In a year, I'll know what college I'm going to go to (probably... I'll at least know which I want to go to). In a year and seven months, I'll be gone forever. I'll have to move hundreds of miles away, and make new friends, and deal with schoolwork without my parents on my back, and after that get a apartment and a job.... This is the first time that the fact that I'm growing up and everything will change has hit me. I'm not upset about getting out of High School or DC, but this is the first year I've really been happy with my life. I'm finally over the teenage "I'm ugly and fat" thing (although that won't change in college, probably).... actually, I guess it's the fact that this is the first year that I've had really good friends who believe the same stuff as me who I can talk to about anything... and the thought that I'll lose touch with many of them and have to leave them just hurts a lot.... I'm scared to death. I don't want my childhood to end. I don't want these 17 years to be all I have with my family. I don't want anything to change. How do you guys deal with it? Those of you in high school, how do you deal with knowing you have to leave? If you're in college, how'd you deal with leaving? If you're past that, what little tidbits of wisdom do you have for a teenager who is scared of the Real World?
> >
> > Well, at least I'll have you guys.... you'll still be here, waiting for me at my computer, right?
> >
> > uni"i feel like i'm writing a Dear Abby letter"peg
>
> One way to deal with it is to look at it as a big adventure. But why do you have to make it such a big break? Go to a little college close to home for a year and then transfer to the University. If I remember correctly, the freshman classes are about the same everywhere and they are fairly easy to transfer. You'll save money too, especially if you can live at home.

well, there aren't really any small colleges close to me... they're all rather large. UVA, UM, GW, AU..... plus, well, i am excited enough about going away to college that i have my list of top choices (Dartmouth, William and Mary, Middlebury, Amherst, Williams) and I'm looking forward to it.... but I'm still scared.
>
> Just a thought. Would you swap places with me? I have all that stuff behind me.

no i wouldn't

> . . . . . . . . . I didn't think so.

hehe, that put it into perspective a bit.

> Howard

uni"i think i just needed to get that out so i could get a little more excited"peg