As finals start to wind down and graduation looms closer most graduates will be reminiscing about the memories they had with their besties. The late night chats, the embarrassing moments, the day you met freshman year as you walked in a giant mass of people to the nearest frat party. But those girls and guys aren’t the only ones you’ll have to say goodbye to come graduation day; there’s also all those randoms you’ve met along the way that added a little spice to your college career.

The ones you see daily but NEVER talk to.
The ones that you share awkward smiles with when you see people take a tumble on an icy street.
The boy from your intro to Anthropology class that giggled with you whenever your teacher unintentionally said something funny.

These are the people you have taken for granted for the past four years and soon they’ll be out of your life forever. When you think about it – it being the fact that you have met so many people that you’ll never see again – it’s weird, right? So let’s take a moment to reflect on these randoms and give them the goodbye they deserve:

The Bartender who always slipped you a shot or two: You’re not sure when or how the connection started, but it did, and now you get free drinks every time you saddle up to the bar. You don’t know his/her name, but he/she has had a bigger impact on your college career than your Psych 101 professor. You’ve share a secret unspoken bond…well, until you graduate and never see each other again. You will be missed, Generous Bartender Person.

Your First Guy: You shared your first college date, your first college kiss, or maybe lost your virginity to him. You might not speak anymore, but he has always been just been a couple of dorms away. Now that you’re both graduating and moving on, that’s no longer the case. And it’s a strange, strange feeling.

Your Secret Crush: You’ve lived in the same building since freshman year and see him all the time in the dining hall, but you’ve never actually exchanged words. You spent the last four years daydreaming that he would one day approach you, you’d share witty banter and the rest would be history. Well, that never happened. Now he’s just the ‘what if ‘ in the back of your mind. The one that got away. The one that you can’t even stalk post-grad because you aren’t even Facebook friends.

Your Party BFF: You bonded once over your shared love for Nivea chapstick, and since then she has been your girl at every party/bar/outing. You usually greet one another with a “Wooo!” and a hug, then bump into one another as you get down on the makeshift dance floor. You’ve shared drunken selfies, peed together in the bathroom, and even partnered up for a beer pong game or two. And yet you’ve never seen her in the light of day….or sobriety. She’s not your BFF but she is your party BFF and now you’ll have to navigate the world of real life parties without her by your side.

Your Freshman Year Roommate: You may not have become BFFs, or even friends, but she is the person who helped you survive all those firsts: your first trip to the dining hall, your first college finals, your first so-bad-you-can’t-get-out-of-bed-to-get-a-Gatorade hangover. She will forever be a part of your college memories, stories and Facebook photo albums, even if you’ll never see or speak to her again.

The Awkward Hook-Up: Maybe you both were a little too drunk, maybe it was just bad timing, maybe he had no freaking clue what he was doing and left you walking funny for days. Whatever it was, the night was a little weak and after sneaking out of there while he snored, you’ve been dodging him for years….

Wait, this might actually be a positive. No, this is definitely a good thing! Peace out, awkward waves and not knowing if you should pretend to text or just blatantly ignore him!

Now it’s your turn – what random will you miss the most?

It’s finally happening. Hard as you tried to push it off, you’re graduating. You are taking the big steps, literally, across the stage and into adulthood. To prepare for the big day, you chug a beer spend all morning primping, getting your hair perfectly curled, ironing your new dress, fixing your shoes. Then you cover it all up with that big, overpriced black gown. The gown that could easily fit two more people.

You look at yourself in disgust, then complain to your mom. “I look like a giant square!” you whine. So she soothes you in that sweet, motherly way. Well, unless it’s my mom then it’s an “Everyone does, get over it” kind of way.

True Story: No matter how bangin’ your bod or how figure-friendly your outfit, there’s nothing flattering about a graduation gown. But when you’re standing outside as your grandparents snap 1,637 pictures of you lookin’ round and squat in that rayon muumuu, you can at least take solace in the fact that you’re not wearing this:

Really, though, regardless of what you wear or how much you sweat under that gown, congratulations on this major accomplishment. No, really. We know what you’ve been up to for the past 4 years, so congrats on making it out alive…and ready to take on the real world. Yay, you!

It’s almost the end of the school year and for those unfortunate seniors out there, it may also be the end of college. (Wah Wah) The second most asked question (right after “what are you doing to do after you graduate?”), will be “what do you want for your graduation gift?” While my wise brother always claims that cash is king, the older generation often wants to give you something more tangible as a gift.

So here’s a list of things you should ask for so you don’t end up with five copies of Oh the Places You’ll Go:

So…big day is almost here.

You ready for the real world?

What are your plans?

If you’re cringing at the very thought of these questions then there’s only one possible explanation: You too are a college senior. You too are caught between college and real life, trying to enjoy the time you have left at college while also trying to make plans for what comes next. You too are frustrated and upset, and unsure. But most importantly you too are badgered daily, no hourly, about all those post college plans. They want to know everything and they want to know it now. But you don’t even know the answers yourself so how can you answer their questions?

Well, lucky for you, I’ve compiled a list of answers for all those pesky questions you’re constantly being bombarded with. They may not be truthful and they may get you a few strange looks but they’ll definitely shut them up.

1. Do you have a job lined up yet?

Currently I’m mulling over a few different offers. MTV wants me on their new reality TV show. But I’m also really tempted by my acceptance to Harvard Law. Then again can Boston compare to that loft they promised me in Manhattan if I went to work for Donald Trump? Eh, maybe I’ll just finally accept Ryan Reynolds’ proposal and spend a few months honeymooning with him. What do you think I should do?

2. Whatshisname is going where? That’s all the way across the country. How are you two going to stay together?

Phone sex. Lots of it. All the same. At work. On the train. At night. In fact we have an appointment right now. We’re practicing. If you’ll excuse me.

3. Isn’t that going to be terrible, moving back in with your parents?

Yes, but in exchange for a lack of privacy I get free room and board. Free meals. Someone to help me do my laundry and a place to crash while I figure out exactly what I want to do with my life. If you can think of a better alternative please do let me know.

4. You’ve got a job? That’s great? How’d you manage that?

Slept my way to the top.

5. What are your plans?

I’ve sent in my application to live at the Playboy mansion. If that doesn’t work out I’ll just have to marry rich, which means I’ll be spending this summer googling how to be the best damn gold digging whore out there, you?

6. Can I have your futon? You don’t need it anymore, right?

Sure, you can have it. Just as long as you don’t mind me coming along with it. Because I’ve decided I’m just not ready to leave yet. I just didn’t know how to make it work if I stayed. But if you’re taking my futon that’s perfect. I’ll just crash at your place. With my futon.

7. So…are you going to miss college?

No. Not at all. Not in the least. Why would I miss the place I’ve called home for the past four years? Why would I miss the place I’ve made some of the greatest memories of my life? Why would it even matter to me at all?

8. Ready for the big day?

Am I ready for the big day? I hadn’t really thought about it? Cap and gown? Check. Graduating? Check. Ability to walk in a straight line without falling or laughing? Hmm. Maybe I should practice that. Or at least not drink that bottle of Jack before the ceremony…

9. Do you think you’ll stay in touch with your friends?

Nah. Somehow I don’t think Facebook, e-mail or Skype are going to cut it. So I’m not even going to bother trying. We’ll say goodbye at graduation and then that will be that. Cut the cord, you know?

10. You got a job that’s great? What’s your starting salary?

Millions. I mean megamillions. I work one year and I’ll never have to work again. One week and my college loans will forever be paid off. It’s great. I won’t give you an actual number though. It will blow your mind.

Of course, if none of that works, breaking down into sobs should do the trick. Trust me, works like a freaking charm. And sometimes you’ll even get pity presents!

It’s cap and gown time! Pomp and circumstance! Diplomas and “OMG, college is over” tears. Which means now is a perfect time to get some items for your ‘drobe that don’t consist of sorority letters written in neon over your badonk-a-donk or look best when paired with a messy bun on the top of your head look. I know, I know – generally speaking, these types of clothes don’t really exist in college girls’ wardrobes; we primarily have a routine of sweats in the day, cleavage baring tops paired with skinny jeans or mini-skirts at night.

I SO hear you, but for your big “See, Mom and Dad; I did do (a little) more these past for years than just drink!” moment, a little more conservativeness/put togetherness is necessary. Not to mention you will need these types of clothes for your big debut as a “real” person functioning in the real world. And not the MTV Real World where our former college girl ways and wardrobes are encouraged.

But just because you have to dress it up, doesn’t mean you have to lose a sense of style! Here are three great looks for graduation day/weekend that are femme, fun and flirty (in a more subdued way).

Dress:

Dress, Pumps

Pair with nude heels and you can take this dress from the ceremony to the dance floor (after the parentals go to bed and you and the roomies wanna pour one out one last time). Coral is a great color on most skin/hair combos and paired with the nude heel, it will elongate your legs and make anyone plagued by “cankles” feel like it’s a non-issue!

Skirt:

Top, Skirt, Pump

I love color blocking. And what’s more fun than wearing a bold pump under with your graduation gown? It screams out to the entire auditorium – yeah, I’ve got style! Paired with this bold red skirt (that is length approved by grandparents’ standards nationwide) and a feminine white blouse, this look is a keeper!

Pants:

Top, Pants, Belt, Shoes

I LOVE the white trouser look. Tucked in with a springy and colorful floral blouse and a fun belt to match, it’s both classy and trendy at the same time. And those shoes, can you die?

So there’s a lot of things that come to my mind when I think about graduation. There’s the week of senior festivities that takes place before, and the long, relaxing summer that takes place after. There’s caps and gowns and diplomas and awards and speeches. Lots of speeches.

From the president of your college to your valedictorian there will be a lot of people giving your advice on graduation day, but none more important than the allusive commencement speaker. For some schools, this is just another really long, really boring speech. But for a special few  the commencement speech, and the commencement speaker, is actually pretty great. I know if I went to one of these schools I’d actually be listening to my commencement speaker, not falling asleep in my chair.

Uh, not that I plan on doing that anyway…

If there’s one thing we all know (but often try to deny), it’s that college is basically it’s own little universe. It’s that beer-drinking, bar-hopping, Cliff Notes-reading, coffee-chugging “safe haven” between the comfort of your parents’ home and that place everybody calls “the real world.” And unfortunately, we all know that “real world” is much less exciting than MTV moguls would like us to believe.

As a senior, I’ve finally realized one very important thing: College is awesome. And there’s quite a lot of sh*t you can get away with here that just isn’t gonna fly once you graduate. For example:

1. Mid-day naps. Unless you decide to hightail your pretty bum down to Mexico or start your own company or something, mid-day siestas are generally not in the typical workin’ girl schedule. Oh, how I love the five hour breaks in between my classes.

2. Threesomes. Unless you want to end up like Charlotte in SATC, watching your dude getting’ frisky and feelin’ up some rando-girl while you stand awkwardly on the sidelines, I think threesomes are definitely better explored pre-graduation. I think almost everybody has at least one wild hookup story (that may or may not involve multiple partners) by the time they leave college. And that’s where those kind of explorations should probably stay. In college.

3. All nighters and Adderall binges. I’m pretty sure it’s not “adultlike” to stay up all night, downing cups of coffee and caffeine pills (or whatever your all-nighter drug of choice may be) to finish whatever crazy task your boss asks of you. Purple bruise-like bags under your eyes will never be sexy. Especially for an early morning meeting.

4. Pizza diets. Depending on where you live, life’s little luxuries, like one dollar slices on Monday nights, might not be at your disposal the way they are now. Nor should they be. You will be an adult and should be eating real food. Like steak or something.

5. The Uggs and North Face uniform. Or any variation, such as: Victoria’s Secret PINK collection from head-to-toe, matching college sweatshirts and sweatpants, etc. Real jobs require real clothes.

6. Tuesday bar hopping. I’ve already accepted that life is probably going to suck hardcore without one dollar cherry bombs on Tuesday night. I try to tell myself that I might be able to pull off being a member of the “Tuesday Crew” every once in awhile for the first few years after graduation. Or at least until I start to resemble my mother who gets a four day hangover after sipping half a glass of wine…spritzer.

7. Sleeping on random couches. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve done it. Quite a few times. …Without realizing it until the next morning. In the “real world,” I’m pretty sure people take stock of who is in their house when three a.m. rolls around. Maybe.

8. Meal plans. As much as college cafeteria food sucks, I think I’m really gonna miss late night mozzarella cheese stick feasts courtesy of Mom and Pops. In the “real world,” you can’t just go into some fancy sushi restaurant with your co-workers and hand the waiter your college ID and wave him off.

9. Making out with your best girl friends at bars and parties. In the “real world,” it’s no longer socially acceptable to grab your girlfriend’s face at the bar (..or you know, your company’s holiday party) and scream, “Let’s make out!” at the top of your lungs before proceeding to play tongue-tackle in front of a crowd. Unless you’re a total Debbie…as in, desperate. Or dumb.

10. Peeing in public places. In college, it’s normally (but not always!) kosher to pop a squat in the backyard at a party when the b-room runs of out T.P. In the “real world,” you’ll get arrested and labeled a sex offender before you can even empty your bladder.

11. Posting party photos on Facebook. This basically goes without saying. Once you graduate (hell, maybe we should all start this now?), don’t even THINK about posting that pic of you on the toilet throwing the peace sign. And, just to make sure you have all your bases covered, you’ll probably want to invest in an external hard drive so you can save all your old faves from undergrad and delete all incriminating photos off the internets forever.

Anything else you can think of that just can’t happen in the real world but is totally fine in college?

[This post is a favorite of CollegeCandy fan, Allyson...and it's one of our faves too!]

April is only two clicks months away.

TWO MONTHS.

That’s shorter than a season of the Bachelor.

And that doesn’t even account for all the days off I have coming up.

Currently, I’m enjoying a five-day weekend. I’ll head into class one day next week, and then two more the week after, and then it’s Spring Break time. And when I get back there will only be three more weeks of March. And then it’s April. A month filled with weeks shortened by Easter and Passover holidays. The month I thought was oh so far away. The month I can pick up my cap and gown. My last month of undergraduate classes. My last month as a college student. Maybe April is closer than I thought. I mean, how did we even get to February already anyway?

The first few months passed quickly, in that beginning of the semester mania, which has now settled down. At least for me. There’s nothing left to worry about. The dreaded senior thesis is done except for some edits and a defense of said thesis that is too far away for me to be freaking out over yet. I’ve also finally settled into my senior capstone classes, grinning and bearing the literary theory as I focus more on the texts we’re reading. (Ian McEwan’s Saturday is amazing by the way. The language alone is like poetry.)

And so suddenly I find myself with more Facebook stalking time than I’ve had in quite a while.

When the semester first started I posted about how a stress free semester was probably impossible, about how I was totally okay with that because I work best under pressure. And sure the adrenaline rush is great and all but as I sit here, unable to think of anything to complain about, I might have to rethink that statement. Peace and tranquility isn’t all bad. I mean, on Monday not only did I wake up early enough to stop at Starbucks before class, but the barista gave me an extra shot of espresso in my macchiato. On Friday the weather was warm enough that I had to pull out my spring coat. And now, I don’t have to go back to class until Wednesday.

It appears that my senior year is not coming to an end with a bang, as I had anticipated, but with an evenly paced, enjoyable stroll. And while it’s entirely possible that two weeks from now I could be eating my words, right now I’m just going to enjoy it.

So, here are five reasons I’m going to miss college. A lot, a lot.

1. Three Day Weekends. The first semester of my freshman year I was blessed with an amazing schedule. Classes three days a week. I had Mondays and Wednesdays off. As a senior, I would complain about having Friday classes, but as a freshman just the idea of not having classes every single week day was enough to make me jump for joy (literally). But as a college senior it’s kind of expected. Classes end on Thursday. Friday is part of the weekend. Two semester ago there was a class offered on Friday mornings that I simply had to take. It was horrible, and I was out by 11:00. In the real world? I’m going to have to work all day on Friday. All day!?!

2. Knowing My World. I’m comfortable at college. I have my friends. My frenemies. My job. My classes. My extracurricular activities. Professors I love. Professors I avoid at all costs. I know my world, socially and academically. I know where I am and what I’m doing at all times. (Except maybe on Friday nights.) I am comfortable at college. But I won’t be comfortable in the real world. And that reminds me… Next year…

3. I’ll Have to Be An Adult. Last week, in senior seminar, my fellow soon-to-be-unemployed post-grads and I were talking about how we can’t wait to be real people, out in the world. People with jobs and apartments and lives outside of a college campus. But is that really what I want? To be a real person? To be an adult? With responsibilities and five-day weeks? Real life comes with real problems. And after reading CollegeCandy’s post-grad columns, I can’t help but think, maybe I should reconsider that whole PhD thing?

4. Summer Break. Summer breaks are important. They’re my downtime. I sleep past noon, stay up late, and treat every day like it’s the weekend. There’s beach time and pool time and shopping time, and it’s sort of perfect. It’s exactly what I need after two semesters worth of crazy time. I don’t know what I would do without it. But I’m going to have to find out soon. Because, oh yeah, there is no summer break in the real world. It’s called vacation. And it only lasts a week. If you’re lucky. That’s going to take a bit of an adjustment…

5. Making My Own Schedule. I love registration time. (I know I’m weird.)  Picking classes, arranging my schedule, ensuring that I never have to get up before eight or stay in class past four. Sure there are core classes I need to take and requirements for my major, but I get to choose the when, the where, and the how. If I don’t want to take a Tuesday night class because it will interfere with my viewing of Glee, I don’t have to. If I don’t want to wake before noon, I don’t need to. I am the master of my own life. Completely in charge of which class fits into which time slot. When I’m working 9:00-5:00 (or you know, longer hours that I chose to remain in denial about) I’m going to miss that.

Almost as much as dollar pitcher night. Do they have that in the real world!?

What about all the other college seniors out there? What are you going to miss after you graduate? What won’t you miss?

Get it out of your system now, ladies.

If there’s one thing we all know (but often try to deny), it’s that college is basically it’s own little universe. It’s that beer-drinking, bar-hopping, Cliff Notes-reading, coffee-chugging “safe haven” between the comfort of your parents’ home and that place everybody calls “the real world.” And unfortunately, we all know that “real world” is much less exciting than MTV moguls would like us to believe.

As a senior, I’ve finally realized one very important thing: College is awesome. And there’s quite a lot of sh*t you can get away with here that just isn’t gonna fly once you graduate. For example:

1. Mid-day naps. Unless you decide to hightail your pretty bum down to Mexico or start your own company or something, mid-day siestas are generally not in the typical workin’ girl schedule. Oh, how I love the five hour breaks in between my classes.

2. Threesomes. Unless you want to end up like Charlotte in SATC, watching your dude getting’ frisky and feelin’ up some rando-girl while you stand awkwardly on the sidelines, I think threesomes are definitely better explored pre-graduation. I think almost everybody has at least one wild hookup story (that may or may not involve multiple partners) by the time they leave college. And that’s where those kind of explorations should probably stay. In college.

3. All nighters and Adderall binges. I’m pretty sure it’s not “adultlike” to stay up all night, downing cups of coffee and caffeine pills (or whatever your all-nighter drug of choice may be) to finish whatever crazy task your boss asks of you. Purple bruise-like bags under your eyes will never be sexy. Especially for an early morning meeting.

4. Pizza diets. Depending on where you live, life’s little luxuries, like one dollar slices on Monday nights, might not be at your disposal the way they are now. Nor should they be. You will be an adult and should be eating real food. Like steak or something.

5. The Uggs and North Face uniform. Or any variation, such as: Victoria’s Secret PINK collection from head-to-toe, matching college sweatshirts and sweatpants, etc. Real jobs require real clothes.

6. Tuesday bar hopping. I’ve already accepted that life is probably going to suck hardcore without one dollar cherry bombs on Tuesday night. I try to tell myself that I might be able to pull off being a member of the “Tuesday Crew” every once in awhile for the first few years after graduation. Or at least until I start to resemble my mother who gets a four day hangover after sipping half a glass of wine…spritzer.

7. Sleeping on random couches. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve done it. Quite a few times. …Without realizing it until the next morning. In the “real world,” I’m pretty sure people take stock of who is in their house when three a.m. rolls around. Maybe.

8. Meal plans. As much as college cafeteria food sucks, I think I’m really gonna miss late night mozzarella cheese stick feasts courtesy of Mom and Pops. In the “real world,” you can’t just go into some fancy sushi restaurant with your co-workers and hand the waiter your college ID and wave him off.

9. Making out with your best girl friends at bars and parties. In the “real world,” it’s no longer socially acceptable to grab your girlfriend’s face at the bar (..or you know, your company’s holiday party) and scream, “Let’s make out!” at the top of your lungs before proceeding to play tongue-tackle in front of a crowd. Unless you’re a total Debbie…as in, desperate. Or dumb.

10. Peeing in public places. In college, it’s normally (but not always!) kosher to pop a squat in the backyard at a party when the b-room runs of out T.P. In the “real world,” you’ll get arrested and labeled a sex offender before you can even empty your bladder.

11. Posting party photos on Facebook. This basically goes without saying. Once you graduate (hell, maybe we should all start this now?), don’t even THINK about posting that pic of you on the toilet throwing the peace sign. And, just to make sure you have all your bases covered, you’ll probably want to invest in an external hard drive so you can save all your old faves from undergrad and delete all incriminating photos off the internets forever.

Anything else you can think of that just can’t happen in the real world but is totally fine in college?

[This story was originally posted by Erica - Kent State University.]

Likey? Don’t worry, there are plenty more faves where this came from.