As college students, we're at a point in our lives where we're preparing to spread our wings and blossom into full-functioning adults. It feels like just yesterday we were marching onto those big, yellow buses with our Ninja Turtle backpacks ready to impress all the other five-year-olds with our wicked heely-ing skills on our first day of kindergarten. Looking back now, it's almost scary how similar we are to our five-year-old selves (for instance, my heely-ing abilities are still rather wicked). Here are 10 other ways that college students are a lot like five-year-olds.
1. Having more than twenty dollars to your name makes you feel like Bill Gates
As a 5-year-old you're mom might've given you the classic "save it for college" speech (and now we really wish we would've), but it really meant you were about to splurge in the Walmart toy isle. As a college student, however, it means you may actually have a meal that doesn't consist of noodles in a cup or a suspicious cheese sauce. Either way, it's a rare and wonderful occurrence.
2. Emotional breakdowns are plentiful and over the most ridiculous things
Way back when, you could attribute emotional breakdowns to missing nap time. Growing up, I assumed these would dwindle once I reached adulthood. Nope. Very wrong. Last week I cried over an episode of "Parks and Rec" and I don't feel bad about it in the slightest. If you were staying up until 3 am studying molecular compounds you'd have the emotional capacity of a 5-year-old too.
3. You miss your mom the minute she leaves
Just like in anticipation of the first day of kindergarten, you counted down the days until you started college and got to spread your little wings and fly the coop. Once the excitement wore off though, the separation anxiety hits you like a ton of bricks and you realize how vital that woman is to your overall survival.
4. Naps are a major key
Not only that, but you can literally nap anywhere, at any time, under any circumstance. Thin foam mat on the classroom floor? Yep, goodnight. Rock hard chair on the third floor of the most popular library on campus? Not a problem.
5. The chubby phase
Oh you thought that was a one time thing? Wouldn't that be great. Like it or not, a chubby phase will likely rear its ugly head once again. For some people more than others, but with stress eating, the limitation of microwavable food, and little time to fit workouts in, can you blame those of us who get a second dose of this wonderful phase? No, no you cannot.
6. Not a single care is given about appearance
As five-year-olds, we generally weren't judgmental enough, or observant enough, for that matter, to care about what other kids wore, unless we're talking about heelys (please tell me I'm not the only person whose childhood was more or less centered around these god-sent shoes), then we definitely cared. We had more important things to focus on, like deciding who had to start as "it" in recess tag that day. Now as college students, everyone understands the struggle of finding time to shower, change your clothes, etc., so it's really no biggy. Plus, what your Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes don't know about your Tuesday-Thursday outfits won't hurt them.
7. Coordination is virtually nonexistent
Okay this may only be relevant as an intoxicated college student, but still relevant nonetheless! I've gotten some gnarly bumps and bruises that would put my kindergarten kickball battle scars to shame.
8. Disney Channel original movies are the highlight of your week
Back in the day, you'd look forward to the 7:00 movie because you were finally going to find out if Troy Bolton got to preform and play in the game that the teaser trailer hinted at. Nowadays, though, the nostalgia is what fuels our love for the classics (also, Troy Bolton.. enough said).
9. Nothing really makes any sense
Back then it was more or less due to our innocence and lack of experience in the world. We had questions pertaining to where babies come from, or why the sky is blue. Nowadays my questions are more along the lines of what in God's name a fixed loan is, whether or not I have one, and why the hell no one taught me about any of this.
10. It's a time of great self-realization
As cheesy as it sound, and as confusing as everything is during these two stages of your life, you truly do learn a lot about yourself. As a five-year-old you're finally old enough to form beliefs and attitudes and develop friendships, and the same goes for college students. It may be more of altering opinions and beliefs and adding to current friends, but you're more or less starting a new life. Many of us move to a new city, or at least out of the homes we've spent the last 18 years in, just as we spent our first day without our parents in our kindergarten classrooms, and with ourselves being the only present familiarity, self-realization is inevitable, which definitely isn't a bad thing.
