Living in your first college apartment is a new, exciting and honestly really weird experience. You've gone your whole life living under your parents' roof and the whole time you were sub consciously watching and analyzing how they lived and took care of daily tasks. You were so used to your sheltered life and daily routine that everything else seemed simple.
After taking a big step and moving into your dorm room as a freshman, you felt like you truly knew what living on your own was like. It was different from what you were used to but still very sheltered. It's not until you spend your first night in your apartment and you're staring up at the ceiling realizing you have no idea what you're doing. There are a million little things you have to worry about now that you never even had to think about before. What outweighs all these small little things, however, are the many irreplaceable and unforgettable memories that you're going to have in that old and beat up little place.
So in the midst of all your ups and downs, here are 10 things you'll realize (if you haven't already) about living in your first college apartment:
1. You don't know how to cook for yourself.
Maybe it's not even that you can't cook, you just don't want to. That last thing you want to do after a long day of running around and going to classes is defrosting some chicken and cook it with some other random things and hope that it tastes good. Not to mention, by the time you're finally getting done it's already 9 p.m. and you have to clean up, do all your homework and get ready to do it all again the next day.
2. You feel like you could start your own show on HGTV.
The fun part of your apartment was before all the stress came and you felt like the HGTV interior decorator that you always knew you could be. Even though you spent ridiculous amounts of money on things like placemats and decorative candles, you enjoyed yourself the whole time.
3. Your mom actually did a lot more than you thought she did when you were at home.
You really start to understand what your mom was talking about that whole time she was raising you. If you're struggling just taking care of yourself, just imagine what it must feel like to take care of your entire family.
4. You don't know what to do with yourself half of the time.
You still can't really get used to the fact that you're living on your own in a real apartment. You find yourself just kind of sitting at your IKEA kitchen table and thinking "what should I do now?"
5. You feel weird saying the words "my apartment."
Every time you say those words you just kind of laugh at yourself in your head. It still doesn't sound quite right but you honestly feel pretty cool saying it out loud.
6. You feel like you're truly adulting.
You're basically just a little adult doing little adult things. No more watching Spongebob. From now on it's CNN and 60 minutes.
7. You suddenly become a neat freak when other people come over.
You never understood why you're mom freaked out so much anytime you walked on the carpet with your shoes on or left your dirty dishes on the table. But now as soon as anyone steps into your apartment with dirty shoes on, you become a full fledged neat freak.
8. You have to worry about real life problems like electricity and toilet paper...
Oh wait, that's a thing?
9. You have to clean things you've never even thought to clean before.
Who knew you ever had to clean the top of your refrigerator?
10. You really start to appreciate your parents and wonder how they put up with you for so long.
It's truly a mystery how my parents put up with me. You might feel like you still need them for the little things but you'll get through it on your own. You'll learn as you go and soon enough, you'll forget what you were even worried about in the first place.
Living in your first apartment is going to be the best time of your life, the worst time of your life, and everything in between. You may feel stressed now but don't forget to take a step back and appreciate all the good in it. It's overwhelming, I know, but the best part is: there are so many amazing memories to come.
