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.
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."
Your boxes are unpacked, your bed is made, and your parents have left the building. You are officially a college student. Woohoo! No more living under their rules. You are a free adult livin’ the dorm life. It takes a few days of getting used to, but you’re finally feeling settled. You’ve even sorta mastered the cafeteria slop. This whole college thing isn’t so hard after all.
Campus dining halls are amazing places. Besides a Las Vegas buffet, where else can you find Chinese food, Mexican food, and a pasta, deli, salad and dessert bar all in one room? They are amazing, but amazing doesn’t always equal good for you.
My first year of college is ending and it's happening much. too. fast. in my opinion. It feels like I just got here, just took my first public bathroom shower, just attended my first lecture, my first frat party. But at the same time, with the amount I've learned, seen and done in the past 8 months, I feel like I've been here forever.
• This makes me feel better about myself. • The hottest mamas in Hollywood. • Everyone needs a pair of espadrilles. • 5 reasons to love The Gap. • College cafs want their stuff back, thankyouverymuch. • Nice moves, Kevin Jonas.
Endless exams and papers, constant guy drama, grad school applications, a dwindling bank account...the day-to-day worries of our college years often weigh us down. But too often, we stress about the big issues and totally forget about the little things that make our daily routines bearable...or even great!
Dining options in college are pretty slim: either you can eat yet another salad, sandwich, or boring hot entrée at the dining hall, which can become a snoozefest, or you can get takeout/go out to eat, which can get expensive. And then there's the whole "cook for yourself" idea, if your dorm has a kitchen or you live off-campus.
You’ve finished your three classes for the day, you spent an hour catching up on reading in the library and you sweat through 45 minutes on the elliptical. Now its 6:00 and you’re starving. You know you should shower, but with only 30 minutes until the cafeteria closes, you throw on some dry sweats, grab some hall mates and run down to dinner.
This awesome occurrence—and the general mood of November—got me thinking about how many things about college I have to be thankful for. I don’t want to sound too clichéd or sappy, but the past three and a half years have definitely been the best of my life; I can’t believe it’s all going to be over in May. College, that is, not my life.
College is full of trial and error. And sadly we find ourselves running into a lot more error than we desire. Being stood up by that guy who we thought was really into us rings a bell. As does spending an entire night and next morning (okay and maybe the afternoon too) puking our guts out.
Freshman year of college, from what I’ve learned so far, is a series of firsts. Some of them are great – first 11:00 a.m. class (yay sleep!), first weekend away at school – while others simply aren’t – like your first midterm exam. But regardless of whether or not these firsts are awesome in themselves, just experiencing them is exhilarating.