When I was 17, I was told that graduating high school was my stepping stone into adult hood. It’s the path that leads to college, that later on leads to a life time career of doing something you love.

But graduation isn’t just about moving onto bigger and better things. It’s also about leaving. You leave behind a parking lot that doesn’t house enough spaces for the faculty, let alone the students. You leave behind the not so edible cafeteria food and the lady who served it. You leave behind the principal that suspended half the football team for having F’s instead of C’s. You leave behind the one teacher who believed in you so much, that you began believing in yourself. And then you leave your fellow classmates: the ones whose lives revolved around video games, computers and math problems; the ones whose entire afternoon consisted of lifting weights and running drills; the ones who danced to the music and cheered on the side lines; and the ones who blending their voices together to create a sweet and hypnotic sound. But most of all, you leave behind all the drama that filters through the halls.

With so much talk about how different it was from high school, I couldn’t wait to get to college. From the very beginning, I could see the differences. My high school campus was small, with not enough parking for the students and faculty. My college and it’s parking lot were large, almost three times the size of my high school, if not more. The slop they served at the high school had been transformed into a grand buffet of sandwiches, salads and entree’s, that not only looked edible, but appetizing. Classes were filled with students who actually wanted to learn and the library was used as it was meant for…studying.

Everything I had been told about graduating high school and how it was the stepping stone into a world of adult hood was true. When they said college was different, it was true and I, for one, was happy about it. It wasn’t until the middle of my first semester that I began to see things in a different light. I began to see that the differences I had recognized before, weren’t really all that different.

The parking lots may be bigger, but there’s still not enough spaces for both students and faculty. If you are lucky enough to get a parking space, you’re required to pay for it’s use. Most students buy what they call a parking permit…a piece of plastic that is stuck in your windshield to say that you have paid to use the parking lot for the entire year. Even then, there’s still no guarantee you’ll get a spot.

The cafeteria has nearly doubled in size, along with the students who eat there. But it still consists of the same small portions; the same rubber textured food and the same cardboard like taste. And though now, it’s served by three cafeteria workers instead of one, they still wear the same looking hair net and not so bright smile, as they plop the daily special onto your tray.

Half the football team is still in danger of being pulled from games because of the F’s that should be C’s. Only now, the guy doing the pulling is not the principal…it’s the dean. And you still have that one teacher who makes you believe that you can do and be anything you want. Only now, it’s not Mr. Spike, your high school English teacher. It’s Mrs. Dalton, the Director of the Foreign Language Department.

Let’s not forget about your fellow students. You still have the students who spend their entire day attached to their computer, game console or protractor. And the ones who spend their entire afternoon lifting weights and running drills. You still have the students that cheer on the sidelines and the ones that create a beautiful melody by blending their sound. Only now, they belong to groups called Sororities and Frat Houses.

And don’t think for a minute that the never-ending drama actually ended. The drama’s still there, filtering though the halls on a much larger campus. Girls are still crying over a break up and guys are still bragging about their date last night. This girl’s still fighting over a boy and that boy’s still fighting over a girl. Only now, instead of three or four hundred students doing it all, there’s three to four thousand.

I thought that after college, this would really change. No principals, no teachers, no cardboard tasting food. But yet again, I find that things really haven’t changed all that much. Instead of a school, I am now at an office. An office with a parking lot, that still houses more employees and customers than spaces. In this office, there’s still the guy handing out suspensions…only now, he’s not the principal, or the Dean…..he’s the boss.

There’s still the guy who spends his time lifting weights. There’s still the girl cheering on the sideline. There’s still the guy addicted to the computer and video games and there’s still the group that likes to get together and sing..only now, they do it at a karaoke bar. And most of all, there’s still the drama. Bathrooms are still the meeting place to see who’s dating who and if this person broke up with that one. The lunchroom is now called the employee lounge, but it’s still the place to see who’s sitting together and who’s not.

In high school, you’re told that everything changes once you get to college. in college, you’re told that everything changes when you get to the workplace. Being welcomed into the workforce, you are told that things will change once you retire. But let’s be honest folks…by the time most of you retire, you’ll be to tired to enjoy the changes that will come.

I am 27 years old. I don’t want to wait another 28 years for things to change. Do you?