College can be a tumultuous experience. Between cramming for finals, missing the dog, and being knee deep in homework no matter how late you stay up, sometimes it can be hard to remember why we ever wanted to go to college in the first place. Despite the rough patches, there are some truly great things that are unique to the college experience.
1. Friends
The people I've met in college, and have yet to meet, have been life changing. My first ever college roommates taught me what it's like to share every inch of space you have with two other people (and how to stay up all night laughing and making pterodactyl noises). One of my best friends taught me that it can't hurt to just walk up to someone on the first day of class and start talking to them. Another friend--and previous roommate--taught me that you can become best friends with total strangers in no time at all. When I started college, separated from all my friends from high school and six hours away from my whole family, I had no idea how I would get through college. It turns out the answer to that question was my friends; all the late nights, the study sessions, the tears (from laughter and crying), the dinner dates, the shopping excursions and the irreplaceable memories are what have propelled me through each and every day of college.
2. The classes
I don't know about you, but Economics was the bane of my existence in high school. I hated almost every second of that class and I remember staring at the clock and just praying it would end quickly and painlessly (hint: it never did). College, even the classes I hated, has never really felt like that. Even Statistics (the new bane of my existence) was kept alive with friends, funny professors, and a lot of snacks. But besides the occasional class that I felt like I was going to lose my cool in, in the fall I have a beautifully full schedule of all classes that I actually want to take. Gone are the days of picking the least painful option in the high school auditorium, and in their place is trying to narrow down the classes you want to take from eight to a more reasonable five. I can't believe I'll get to wake up every day and be happy about going to class.
3. Professors
In high school, the big thing was that you had to be responsible for yourself because in college your professors wouldn't care. I'm here to tell you, that is majorly incorrect. While not all of my professors have been amazing and life changing , others have without a doubt been the building blocks on which I've been able to flourish in my academics. One of my first college professors pushed and critiqued me for three long semesters into becoming a better, more diligent writer. A professor in my department sparked such a passion in me, I changed my major and that completely changed my life. She's been a wonderful mentor and incredibly kind human being, supporting me in academic decisions and helping me work through the stresses of college. Other professors have been more subtle in their help, like going over tests with me, answering my endless questions, allowing me extra time for homework I was struggling with, or excusing absences so I could go home and see my family. I've been so happy to find out that it's nothing like I thought it would be.
4. Freedom
The first time I went to the store after I moved to college, I took out my phone when I pulled into the parking lot to text my mother and let her know I had arrived safely. While it was clearly an old habit, it struck me as so bizarre that I was no longer required to log so much of my day with another person. Several weeks into the semester, a few of my friends and I went to the beach. We were all floating in the water and making plans to order a pizza back in the dorm after everyone showered and changed. I looked at my friends and shouted, rather lamely, "college is so cool!" My friends laughed all the way home, but I was completely mystified with how much freedom I had at that moment. There's something so new and exciting about having your own life, separate from anyone else. Even as I enter into my junior year, every now and again when I come home and flip on the tv and start cooking dinner, I remember that there was a time when there wasn't so much room to make my own decisions like when I was coming home, what to watch on tv, and what to throw together to eat.
5. Easy access to Starbucks
Never in my life have I ever been so close to so many Starbucks locations. There are literally four separate cafes less than five miles away from campus that I can indulge in. Granted, this may be slightly more related to the city I live in rather than being on a college campus, but it's certainly worth being grateful for. And if you're a coffee addict like me, having that caffeine on hand makes a difference on a long, exhausting day.
6. Sports
Absolutely nothing beats school spirit. At my first college basketball game, my friend dragged me along because she didn't have anyone to go with. I've never really been into sports, so the idea of sitting through an entire sports game was less than satisfying. But, by the end of the game, I was screaming and cheering right along with all the frat guys that surrounded us. Never again in your life will you be able to pay absolutely nothing (our students get in free) to watch a team that you love and sit in a crowd with thousands of people who are rooting for the same team. School spirit is uniting and electric.
7. Events
Colleges can come up with some pretty great events. On Wednesday evenings, they play popular movies at the Student Union at my college. I got to watch "Sisters" and get popcorn and a drink for zero dollars, compared to the twenty I would have spent at the movie theatre. During finals week, we had massage therapists come to the library to give out free neck and shoulder massages. We also have puppies- lots and lots of puppies. Other events like carnivals, Market Days, and pool parties are happening regularly on campus, and are fun and easy to access.
8. Late nights
There will never be another time in your life where staying up until three in the morning (or pulling an all nighter) will be fun, acceptable, or easy. As much as I sometimes hate to say it, college is the time for staying up all night! Whoever said nothing good happens after midnight never went to college. I have valued our late night trips to McDonald's with music blasting and loud laughter more than anything else. I know that when I start working a nine to five job, things will be different. Take advantage of the opportunity to binge watch your favorite Netflix show, go to that party with your girlfriends, make that Taco Bell run, because when you're thirty-five and have a stellar job that you work really hard at, none of those things are going to sound quite so appealing.
9. Cafe food
By the end of my freshman year, my friends and I were tired of eating at the cafe. A cycle of foods that weren't always the best but worked for the time being were eaten for an exhausting breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Looking back though, I miss it a lot. We had a standing dinner date every night freshman year. Dinner was at six, no matter the weekday. If you couldn't make it, you didn't go. Some of us showed up early and others would join later, sometimes new friends joined, but either way it was just always there. It was the one thing my freshman year, amidst all the changes, that was constant. We had some priceless moments in the cafe devouring all the ice cream and crinkle cut fries that we could manage. Cooking in an apartment on my own just isn't the same as being gathered at a table with all my friends laughing and being together.
10. Finding a new home
The one thing I never expected to find at college was another place to call home. I have friends, professors, and coworkers that have helped me create a new life that I love more than anything. Moving away from home ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me, because now I just feel like I moved to another home. After a vacation with my family, I'm excited to go home to my friends and my apartment. I never thought I would find that at school. I used to think maybe I'm just lucky, but I think that's really the point of college. It's time, as blossoming adults, to find our own way and our own place outside of where we spent most of our lives. Our parent's house will always be the "original" home, but having a home of our own is something worth celebrating.
