She graduated at the top of her class, so obviously she felt that she was ready to attend college. However, soon after she started she realized she was not as ready as she thought she was. Everybody else had knowledge on topics that were not even offered at her high school.

So this made me wonder: Am I being as well prepared for college as everybody else?

I am a junior at Southern High School, and I am proud to say that I'm in the top of my class. However, there have been many times when I realized I didn't have as much knowledge as I would like to have.

About a month ago I attended the North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities (NCASA). This competition challenges students to think critically - and fast - to answer some very complex questions. Southern came in fourth place and made it to the state finals.

I was so impressed at the knowledge that most of the students from other schools had. They answered some questions I thought were ridiculously hard. I talked to one of my teachers and asked her how it was possible for them to know that stuff.

She told me that there could be different answers. Those students had probably prepared themselves for the competition more than we had. Or they had taken extra classes to learn more, or maybe some of the classes at their school were not offered at Southern.

This, once again, raised my concern about the type of education that am I getting.

I understand that education is different for each student and also that states and school districts decide differently on how to educate their students. But shouldn't all students be able to have the same opportunity regardless of what school they attend?

When applying for college I know that they look at your GPA and also at how you challenged yourself. But how is possible for a student to challenge himself or herself if the school he/she attends only provides regular classes?

At Southern I have taken the hardest classes that I have been able to find. But when I think about those students at the competition I just feel like they have been exposed to knowledge that has never been mentioned to me. I feel like this is unfair for students, and it bothers me because I feel what I have done so far is still not enough.

I do not understand exactly how the school system works, but I am pretty sure it is very convoluted. But what I do know is that I don't want to end up like that girl that went to college and found herself unprepared. She had to learn the hard way to catch up with everyone else and make it through.

Don't get me wrong. I know that the transition from high school to college is probably very difficult for everybody, but I bet it is worse when you start off without the foundation others have. No matter what happens, I know that I have challenged myself as much as possible in high school and when I get to college I will continue to do the same.