Signing up to be a collegiate athlete is making a dedicated commitment to an entire laundry list of things: 6 a.m. practices, volunteering, three-a-days, missing weeks' worth of classes, putting your body through hell and much, much more. While playing in college can be absolutely exhausting, it is also one of the greatest experiences any athlete could experience. Here are 11 moments that any college athlete will be able to relate to.

1. 6 AM conditioning.

Okay, first off, how dare you? Second off, why? I understand the whole 'conditioning' aspect of it, but can we talk about the '6 a.m.' part of this? There has to be some other time in the day we can run that doesn't require me waking up at an ungodly hour. Please let me go back to bed. Please let me go back to bed. For the love of my sanity, please let me go back to bed.

2. Being hungry. All. The. Time.

I just ate two sandwiches and a bag of chips. There is literally no way that my body could ingest any more food. But I better preheat my oven anyway, just to be safe...

3. Finally getting your free gear.

I've never seen a more beautiful sweater in my life. Are those matching sweats?! Shout out to you coach, because you just supplied my whole wardrobe for the entire semester.

4. Hearing people say that you have it easy.

So, you think I'm catered to because I'm an athlete? I'm going to need you to define two words for me: "free time". I don't know what that means because I've never gotten the luxury. Let's not forget about all of the professors that hate us for missing class, the agony we put our bodies through, and all of the sleep you take for granted that we would kill for.

5. Laughing at the idea of a "normal sleep schedule."

Normal sleep schedule? I haven't heard of that in years. Lately I've been abiding by a "Wake up at five, nap in-between practices, and stay up until three doing homework" kind of thing.

6. Matching all of your gear with the squad while walking through campus.

There probably isn't a cooler feeling in the world, or in college at least. It's like something out of the movies. You and your clique, walking slowly through the hallways, while everyone else stops and stares. You can almost hear them thinking about how cool you look...

7. Identifying houses by the sports that live in them.

For example: "Hey! I heard the softball house is having a party tonight, you down?" or, "Dude, I was at the volleyball house the other night, and things got so crazy!" It's like a secret code.

8. Never really getting rid of the smell of your cleates, pads, braces, etc...

...but at least we get used to the smell. R.I.P to all my non-athletic friends who have to come into my room. Those are called shinguards, and they are deadly.

9. Swearing by ice packs and ibuprofen.

They are a life-saving combination. Don't forget to include ice baths, because as terrible as they might be in the moment, once you're out it feels like you have a brand-new pair of legs. #LifeSavers

10. Having a jam session any time there is an away game.

There is always that one person on the team who knows just how to get everyone super hyped, and they are always in charge of aux cord privileges.

11. Knowing that you not only have a team behind you, but a family too.

You might argue, fight, or disagree on everything, but once you step onto that field, that court, that track--you have a family around you, and you wouldnt trade that family for anything in the world. (Not even for an extra ten minutes of sleep in the morning).