HAFTA/WANNA

As much as I hate clichès, I do, in fact, differentiate "life during high school" and "life after high school". The reason for this is that there is a rather large gap in responsibility, even for those who haven't been sheltered/coddled (which a disappointingly large portion of this generation has). Once a person is out on his/her own, EVERYTHING is on him/her. Having a part-time job in high school is one thing, but having to work full time, while most likely attending college, while having to take care of daily responsibilities, while trying to stay fit and healthy, while trying to still have some sort of social life, all while faced with a daunting college budget is a whole different world. While not exactly magic, all of these factors can force a transformation in some cases. If a person hasn't reached a certain point of maturity upon departing from "life during high school", he/she will be forced to grow up quickly in order to accomplish anything worth while.