I am sort of floundering right now. Not in the sense that I am stressing like crazy and not getting enough sleep and having breakdowns and silently weeping into the shoulder of my freshman counselor. It’s a much more passive type of floundering. It’s a kind of floundering where I am feeling great and happy to be alive when all of a sudden I remember that, just outside of this bubble of happiness I’ve created, is a mysterious void of terrifying things called The Rest of my Life.

I mean, high school was easy. All throughout high school, I had one goal: Get into a good college. I knew I had to turn in my homework, to get A’s on tests, to play sports, take on leadership positions, etc. Everything I did, I did with the idea of, will this help me get into college?

Except then during senior year, I felt like that was complete crap and embraced my inner crunchy granola self and spiraled more into the question of does this really matter?

And that’s the mentality I’ve come into college with. For the first time in my life, I am no longer shooting towards a singular goal. It’s like, I’ve always been told to go up a mountain, but now that I’m on top I realize that I’m on a precipice looking into an ocean that is infinite. I have to jump in, but where do I even swim?

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So it’s official: you’ve Facebooked your roommate, scheduled your orientation and practiced your “I’m gonna miss you guys!” speech for all your family and friends. You’re either shrieking for joy or curled up in a ball with fear and anxiety.

Don’t worry: It’s perfectly normal to experience all of these mixed emotions before you even make that trip to campus. But no fear! I’m here to give dish out tips not included in the orientation guide or one of those “Tips to Surviving College” books you got as a graduation gift.

1. Orientation: The friendship goldmine! Orientation is a great way to make friends since everyone there is going through that same, “I’m excited about college, but scared sh*tless” phase too. Plus you never know if you’ll meet your next boyfriend or dining hall buddies, so get out there and network, girl! But be warned, everyone you meet there WILL NOT become your new bff. Everyone’s nice at orientation, but everyone begins to show their true colors after a couple of weeks (or drinks) into the semester. This brings me to my next point…

2. Get to know the upperclassmen. They have tons of useful information, plus they tend to be a bit more mature than your freshie counterparts. Read More »

I think we’ve had this conversation before. But it’s worth having again, especially since Freshmen year is so crucial to the development of this addiction.

This messy, painful, powerful addiction.

The addiction to wearing pajamas to class.

Some of you had to get up as early as 5:30 AM to get to high school, and while wearing pj’s may have been a slight temptation, you never actually went and did it.

No, you pulled on some jeans, found a shirt somewhere, made sure your face wasn’t frightening, and then hopped into the car while the sun was still coming up.

But then college happens, and for some reason, everything changes. Almost no one has class earlier than 8:30 (a whole hour later than 12th grade), school is usually no more than a 10-15 minute walk from your bed, and breakfast is already made for you. It should be easier to resist the urge to wear those dancing dog pj’s your grandma got you to class…right?

Nope.

Just doing it once, just one taste of the sweet, sweet laziness that is literally throwing a jacket over pajamas is enough to turn some people in pajajay junkies for life (or at least the duration of the college career). Read More »