#3 So long and thanks for all the fish

The transition from high-school to varsity: from being a big fish in a small pond to a sardine in a school of nitwits.

So you thought you were hot stuff back in high-school? University quickly teaches you how to feel stupid all over again and what the taste of failure feels like. It's a bitter sweet reminder of reality and the best grounding medicine you'll ever receive. Unless of course you already have always felt like an idiot or a sardine - then you'll feel right at home. I must emphasize not to burn any bridges leaving high-school (as tempting as that is). If your high-school happens to be a castle, you'll likely strand everyone there without a means of escape - funny, but inconvenient to have a criminal record of pyromancy as you start university. You might not be allowed to register for red-hot topics like chemistry and environmental safety as you'd have already gained (anti)credits in both courses through your combustion work experience.

Another transition is from varsity to the world of work: from being a fool-of-a-took sardine to an eager-to-please gremlin.

We run into the working world with hopes and dreams (I guess this is universal multi-versal for all major transitions in every fish's life). As university crushed your sense of self, the working world will crush your sense of sobriety. It's a good thing. As in varsity one tends to drink to get drunk, in later life one might change that up a little by being able to afford nicer things to get drunk on. It's the difference between swimming in a fish bowl and swimming in an aquarium. Alternatively, instead of an aquarium, you may have the option to leave the planet entirely, choosing to swim through the vacuum of your own soul and outer space. 

In all transitions it's important to always look back and thank those who gave you important lessons for all the fish. Without all those other fish who would you have had to beat out of the competition? You needed other fish in the game to successfully blend in and stick out when needed. The society of a school of fish is an important milestone in every major transition of life. Each one shaped you, for better or for worse, with or without criminal record, and thus you need to keep the gratitude flame alive by burning your humanity on it at every possible chance.