No, that is not me. I'd never get drunk enough to wear a belly shirt.

I went back to Syracuse for homecoming weekend and effectively destroyed any part of my liver that was still functioning. While I had an amazing time reuniting with friends and walking to the bars while shivering in the pouring rain (man I’ve missed that Syracuse weather), I also learned that I’m officially not a college kid anymore. I honestly don’t know how I spent four years drinking every. single. weekend. on little to no sleep.

By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around I was curled up in fetal position nibbling on saltines and sucking on ice chips. All I wanted to do on the drive home was shut my eyes — which I would have done if the passengers in the car I was driving hadn’t objected so strongly.

The drunker I got, the more tired I got of having to answer the question, “what are you doing now?” So I began telling people I’m a graduate student at DeVry University and handing out a playing card as my business card. It didn’t take too long for people to stop asking me about my employment status. I did almost start a fake pregnancy rumor about myself but then refrained just in case karma hit me hard and I actually turned out to be with child. However, the pregnancy rumor would have explained why I threw up in the morning. Morning sickness sounds a lot more mature than a hangover. Read More »

When you think of community college what comes to mind? Cheap, slackers, immature kids with bad grades. These are the first things that popped into my head when I had to make the decision to go there for the semester before I transfer schools. I thought it was going to be pure hell, but instead it’s actually kind of my idea what college should be like, minus a few things. Here’s what to expect if you’re going to community college next semester or summer.

The Good:

Free parking! - I was pumped about this, since parking at my last college (NC State) was about 200 bucks. This is also a bad thing because everyone can afford to park, so I have to leave my house 40 minutes before class (and I live 15 minutes away) to beat traffic and find a spot next to my building

The Fests - Back to School Fest, Fall Fest, Latin Fest, Halloween Fest….there’s always some type of “fest” going on….and they all involve a DJ, a moon bounce and loads of free food!

Online classes with NO extra fees - Most colleges label online classes as Distance Education and slap a few extra fees on the courses so that you’ll actually come to campus and not sit in your dorm/apartment/parent’s house watching your lecture via laptop wearing your your favorite tee and a pair of sweats (heaven!). Well, because so many people go to good ol’ community college (mine has 4 campuses total and is 40,000 strong), they actually prefer if you take a class or two online. But be warned: most online classes don’t have deadlines and it can be tempting to slack off. I’ve been taking Ethics since August and haven’t taken any tests just because I don’t feel like it! Read More »

I was home for Fall Break for four days, and I realized that maybe adapting to college was easier than I expected. When I entered my house Friday night, I didn’t see a place where I had numerous study sessions, birthday parties and mental health days. I saw a place to do laundry for free, watch some mindless television and sleep for awhile.

Sure, it was nice to be home. But I kept feeling like I had to go back to school, like this was more of a temporary sleepover than a homecoming. While the weekend kept me busy from noticing that my house was not exactly home, it also uncovered a new strangeness which college created—meeting up with high school friends.

Most of my high school friends, all of whom I have known for years, go to college within two hours of my hometown. So when a few of us come home for the weekend, we all come home for the weekend. And while I loved being around people who never need an explanation for my random songs or not-funny jokes, it was also startling to see how just a few months have changed us.

I left my friends for the entire summer, and I noticed little change when I came back. But now my friends are not just sitting around their houses or working at the local Dunkin’ Donuts; they’re making friends, testing their boundaries and (some of them) are becoming people who I never would have talked to in high school. When it’s just the few of us watching a movie or walking around town, I can’t entirely ignore the college sweatshirts, new belly-button rings and anecdotes starring new best friends. I can’t pretend that this is last June, when we all just graduated and were ready for something new. Read More »