Just a few months ago, I was a hopeful, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (but ever so naïve) soon-to-be college freshman, who had no idea what I was about to get myself into. There we all were, a bunch of recent high school grads, thinking college was like Zoey 101 with no concept of what it’s really like out here in “adulthood”. All we could think about coming into college was how much we were going to gain— with no idea what we were about to lose.
1. Puppies, babies, and just about everyone who isn’t a college twenty-something
Yes, meeting people is cool and all. But every now and then I just want to see some babies that I can make faces at in restaurants, puppies I can pet, and older and wiser people that will talk about something other than what’s going on this weekend and who got caught doing what.
2. Iced water
Although this might seem like a weird one, if you’re in college, you feel me. Lukewarm water from the Brita only does the trick about 20% of the time. And you can forget about putting the Brita pitcher in the mini-fridge because no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t fit... trust me.
3. Showers that don’t include flip-flops
The real issue at hand isn’t the fact that we never have hot water in our dorm, you get used to that. It’s that we share a bathroom with 26 other human beings and have to wear shoes in the shower to prevent contracting every foot disease under the sun.
4. Sleep
Point, blank, period. Cherish every last second of your 8 hours because come third week of college, you’ll have permanent dark circles under your eyes.
5.Groceries you didn’t have to buy yourself
Eat every single name-brand granola bar and cracker that you can because before long, you’ll be showing up to the grocery store with change you found under your car seat to pay for all the off-brand groceries you need for the week. Say goodbye to Lays and hello to Market Pantry.
6. Privacy
Soon, whether you like it or not, you will be sharing a 12x12 foot dorm room with someone you probably don’t know too much about. Despite this, though, dorm rooms know no privacy. If you’re shy, you better practice getting real comfortable with an almost stranger. No shoes, no shirt, no problem, if you know what I mean.
7. Eating out
Trust me when I say that you’ll consider about eating out a lot when it’s midnight and you haven’t eaten anything but cereal for the last 48 hours, but following through with it is another story when you’re broke, your car is on the top floor of the garage across the street and Taco Bell is across the highway. Things just aren’t as simple as they used to be. Easy Mac it is.
8. Clean clothes
When someone isn’t doing your laundry every so often, you start a game with yourself called “how long can I possibly wait before I have to do a load of laundry?” The game includes things like wearing what you wore to bed to class, then to lunch then to work out, and if you didn’t get too sweaty—to dinner, too. It also includes taking things out of the hamper, checking for stains then shrugging as you proceed to spray wrinkle spray on it and wear it again.
9. Reliable wifi
College is cool because it teaches you patience. Sometimes you type an entire paper and will need to submit it by midnight, and your dorm’s wifi just can’t seem to get it together. And no matter how many times you restart your laptop, no avail.
10. The little things
Don’t stop sneaking out, turning off the security alarm or going on adventures with your best friends in the middle of the night. Soon they won’t be so close by to do that with you. And you’ll have to make new friends. Which is hard. Also, eat your mom’s cooking even if it’s meatloaf. I know about twenty people who would kill for a home-cooked meal right about now.
Keep your head up though, kid. Soon, you’ll get to eat pizza bagels for every meal if you want to and stay up all night doing weird things like throwing tortillas off of a bridge simply because: 1. You don’t want to do your homework and 2. Why not? College is fun, I promise.
