In a lot of ways, college is that transitory step between our sheltered lives and the real world. We learn how to manage our time, learn the tools of our trade, and make lifelong friends and connections. We like to think of ourselves as productive young adults, and while there is some truth to that, we may have a lot more in common with younger students than we might think. Here are 14 reasons why college is essentially grown-up kindergarten:

1. The most exciting thing someone can give us is a snack.

No different than kindergarteners, all a college kid really wants is a snack. The more free food the better, and bonus points if it's cookies or candy!

2. We have no money.

Like when we were five years old, we are sent into the world with about enough money to eat lunch, and that's it. Maybe if we ask our parents for an extra allowance we can have enough money to buy a toy!...or ramen noodles.

3. We still don't know our friend's name and we are way too scared to ask her now.

"Mommy! That's my friend!" "Oh honey, what's her name?" "I don't know." We've all heard children have that conversation with their parent, and maybe we had it ourselves, but it's the same in college. We have spent the entire semester talking to that one person in class and we still don't have their name down.

4. All we want is our blanket.

When we walked into that classroom, we just wanted our parents to let us bring our blankies. Whether it be for comfort or warmth, the same goes for college- if we can't bring our blankies we don't wanna go, so we'll just stay in bed.

5. Everything is overwhelming.

Remember in kindergarten when you had all the stations to pick from in the classroom? And all of this children to befriend? And all the food choices in the cafeteria? This was the first time we experienced all of these things and it was kind of scary! College is no different.

6. We get lost a lot.

As if school is new to us, we always seem to somehow end up in the wrong building or the wrong classroom. The worst is when someone tells you to take your forms to a building you haven't even heard of to a person who's name you don't even recognize. You'll wander around aimlessly just like a child a good bit in your college career.

7. We don't really understand what is going on here and how we fit into it.

In kindergarten you're kind of just doing what they ask you to and not understanding why. Us college kids do the same thing- we don't know how this Ancient Civilization homework is going to help us in life, but we were told to do it, and because of our grades, we will.

8. We need constant reassurance and praise.

Just like as children, we are really overwhelmed and confused and we need praise for even the smallest things. Why isn't there someone to give us a sticker for doing laundry? Where is our pat on the back for doing our homework?? We need it.

9. We miss our parents.

Sure, we don't throw temper-tantrums or grab onto their leg when they leave, but we do miss our parents. We may not feel the need to admit it all the time, but we do.

10. We have drastic mood swings.

As children, we were expected to go from happy to mad to sad and back pretty quickly. The same goes for college kids though because we're pretty easily influenced creatures.

11. Car rides are the best!

Sure, the world should be a lot more exciting to younger children, but who says a twenty-year-old can't be excited about a good trip to Walmart?

12. Puppies, kitties or literally any other animal can cause absolute mayhem.

Us college kids are away from our pets, so if you bring one on campus, odds are we will revert back to childhood and feel the uncontrollable need to pet your animal.

13. We don't know what we want to be when we grow up.

Usually when we are a child, our career goals are expected to be unrealistic. And sure once you hit eighteen you're supposed to know what you field you wanna go into. But you know what, we are still exploring our options.

14. It really isn't as bad as we thought it was gonna be.

When we first walked in the doors of kindergarten, we thought it was going to be horrible. There were scary big kids, our parents weren't there, and everything was really confusing. The same goes for college. But in both scenarios, as time goes by, we realize that this thing is actually not that bad, in fact, its kinda fun.