Our parents are not here to tell us what to eat, when to do our homework, when we should exercise. I am responsible for listening and waking up to my own alarm in the morning. I get to choose when I eat now instead of my mother saying, “you cannot eat that; we are about to eat dinner.” Although usually I can still hear her voice subconsciously telling me to choose a salad over ice cream. Also, I can choose how I dress now because I am not confined to the dress code of my high school saying: “no showing the collar bone, all shorts and dresses must be three inches above the knee or longer,” or my mother asking me to change my clothes because she believes they are too indecent for going out in public. However, how I choose to spend my time is one of the biggest differences between living at home and being in high school. At home my parents would check if I had completed my homework before I could relax and watch tv. At college I can reward myself with more breaks because I have more free time to do my homework and relax.
As much independence as I have, not all of it is a blessing. There are a lot of great mentors here from teachers to RA’s, even new friends, but none of them can give advice like my mom can. If I am having a bad day and just need some encouragement, she is not there to tell me it is going to be okay and give me a big hug. I am still learning how to be most efficient with time management. I do not have a good strategy set up besides doing as much as I can earlier in the week to get it done, knowing I am usually busier later in the week. This method works to an extent, but I am used to having a specific routine like I did in high school. Throughout high school I would go to school, then sports practice, then I would come home and eat dinner and then do homework. In college, with fewer classes and having more free time, it is harder to create such a strict schedule for myself. Overall, I am enjoying having the freedom to become my own person at college, but just like anything, it has its challenges. 
I completely agree with you that it is a totally different experience to be living far away from family. I also have the subconscious “voice of my mom” telling me what to do and what not to do. I agree with your statement about how you have to be more strict with yourself to have a beneficial schedule.