When Oakland students take the time to reflect on their childhood and grade school memories, some may find college life more interesting, while others miss pieces of their life before college.

“One of the bad memories is having assigned seats at lunch,” said Zac Massa, a sophomore studying occupational safety and health. “In elementary school and middle school, you had no worries.”

Though there are no assigned seats in college, classes are only a few hours at a time—leaving a lot of time for extra curricular activities, friends and of course time to study. Even with more time to study, high school tests seem to be more favorable.

“Studying was a lot easier in high school because teachers provided study guides,” Matt Zuelch, student, said.

In grade school, it was a lot more personal and you made connections with teachers. Some of these bonds stick with students, inspiring them in the future.

“All of my favorite teachers are from grade school, and in college, I don’t really have a favorite professor,” said Dominic Carlini, senior. “Some you like better than others, but you don’t really get close with them as I did with my grade school teachers,”

Even activities like dance have changed.

“The dance that I do now is lot different from what I did in high school,” Caprice Green, a freshman who has been dancing since 4-years-old, said. “It’s more focused on the art of the dance rather than the entertainment aspect.”

For many, making friends can be the hardest part of college. In grade school, growing up around the same people and being on the same team brought people together.

“In high school, you had the same people for four years,” Massa said. “You knew everybody in your classes. Here, some people are afraid to talk because you know nobody.”

“I was really involved in cheer in high school and that was a huge part of my life,” Nicole Weber, sophomore, said. “It was really cool to be a part of a team because when you come to college you can no longer be a part of that team.”

It seems for many students, taking a trip down memory lane allows them to appreciate childhood education and college life – just for different reasons.