As we settle into the new semester, we notice a few tings never really change. Sure, there are new faces, new names, new classes, but certain themes never change. Life just as a college student is as predictable as it isn't. We may not always know what the future holds, but we can at least have a vague idea. Here are a few things in college that never change.
1. Good-bye Seniors
Naturally, the seniors from last year have graduated. It's always strange to not see them on campus anymore. Until, of course, you get used to it. Then it's weird to see them on campus.
2. Hello Freshmen
You can always pick them out within the first few weeks of school. They wear their lanyards around their necks with their student ids and constantly look slightly lost. Face it. You did the exact same thing.
3. Move In Day
You pack your car with everything you own, drive to school, get your room key, rearrange the furniture, move everything you own into your room, then you have to find a place to put everything. Sometimes this can take a week or more, depending on when you move in, what with classes and homework and all. I'm still finding a home for everything.
4. New Floor
If you're like me and live in the dorms, you get a new floor every year. You always have different people living on the floor, some of them are freshmen. New leadership, new room, new community. Yet another new thing to throw into the mix...
5. Name, Hometown, Major?
You get asked this question a million times those first few weeks of class. Every. Single. Year. You're around new people, and so they have to learn it. Of course, you have to learn their's too so you have to ask that same question a million times yourself.
6. Remembering everything
With all the new names, faces, hometowns, and majors, you have to remember everything. Sometimes, it's easier to try and just place the name with the face....
7. New Schedule
You set your schedule the semester before, but you still have to hammer out the details yourself. You don't yet know when you'll have time for homework, work, hanging out with friends, sleep, etc. It's always a learning curve. Try one thing, work out the kinks, perfect the routine.
8. Syllabus Day
This is simultaneously one of the worst and best days of the semester. Depending on the professor, you tend to get out early and only go over the syllabus. Of course, there are a few profs out there who like to start class right away. Either way, you don't have to prepare anything for that day. You get to see just how much work you're doing over the semester on one terrifying sheet, and you get started on your work the moment you leave with it. Every. Single. Time.
9. Procrastinating Your Homework
Your homework is always assigned for your next class period, but you think "I've got a few days to work on this....It can wait. And the procrastination cycle begins. It's a horrible cycle, and we know this, yet it happens every year. You're probably procrastinating right now.
10. Breaks And Events
The breaks always land in the same time frame. Always. My school lets out for Labor Day every year, even though we just started the Monday before. Every year. There's always orientation events, traditions, and general fun stuff the Student Activities Board puts together at the beginning of the year. Occasionally they'll throw in a new event, but most of it happens every year.
11. The Food
That's right. The food never changes. If you're a freshmen, and the food at your Dining Commons is bad, I'm sorry. As an upper class-man, I feel your pain. I feel it every year. The food never gets better. On the plus side, it usually never gets worse. Usually. And you get to eat it all four years.
