Admit it, college is weird. Sure, it's one of the greatest places ever--you get to meet your best friends, pursue your dreams and have an incredible time doing it--but it's pretty freaking weird. There are so many things about college that just aren't acceptable in the real world. College is like this bubble you're put in where suddenly social norms don't exist. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it's just strange to think about.
1. You're allowed to nap...whenever...wherever.
Napping in college is not only the best thing ever, but it's also pretty weird. Seeing kids knocked out at the library, in the grass, sitting at a table or in class is a little strange.
2. Crying is acceptable at all times of day and in all places.
Happy tears, sad tears, tired tears, frustrated tears...they're all okay. Crying on the bus, in the bathroom, in the union, in class, while eating your lunch...totally normal?
3. Only in college will you get high-fived for telling someone you ate a can of pringles for dinner. (Sorry mom)
Food is expensive, cooking is hard and college students are lazy. Facts of life. For some reason it's cool to eat a can of pringles or a bag of popcorn for dinner; heck I've even done it. It's almost like a milestone in your college career...and that's pretty weird.
4. You can stay up as late as you want and go to bed at 8 a.m. and no one thinks anything of it.
All-nighters are weird. You stay up all night, depriving your body of what it needs most after a long day of college--sleep. Whether you were up doing homework or binge-watching your latest Netflix obsession no one will really think much of it...but it's still a pretty strange concept.
5. Going out in public in your pajamas is 100% okay 100% of the time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about this one. Pajamas are life and college seems to be one of the only places where you can wear your pajamas all the time with zero judgement. Long night? Wear pajamas. Haven't done laundry for weeks? Wear pajamas. Want to wear pajamas? Wear pajamas.
6. For the first year or so you get to live in miniature, awful hotels referred to as "dorm rooms".
Remember when the idea of living in a dorm was the coolest thing ever? You'd have this cool room with a new best friend and be living in this giant building with people from all over, how neat! Wrong. It's tiny, it's cramped, it's noisy...and most of the time it smells like a skunk. Dorms are weird, get out as soon as possible.
7. Dining hall food is all-you-can-eat but the only thing that's edible is the off-brand cereal.
Dining halls always seem so promising, but are always so, so disappointing. From the flavorless mystery meat to the sad noodles...you're better off sticking with the not-so-lucky charms.
8. Showering with shoes on is suddenly normal.
Quite possibly the worst of everything weird about college. There's nothing worse than showering with shoes on to avoid whatever fungal mess was left on the shower floor by the thousands of other feet that have touched it.
9. You get to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and second dinner at 3 a.m. after a night out and it's totally acceptable.
It's a little strange that there's food still available at 3 a.m., but I'm not really complaining.
10. You're an adult...but you're still being monitored, especially if you're in a dorm.
Nothing's more weird than constantly being told you're an adult and that you have to make your own choices...but then being told when you need to be quiet and when to show up for community meetings.
11. No one forces you to go to class anymore.
Remember the days when your parents would force you out of the house to go to school? Those days are long gone. The decision to go to class or stay home is 100% up to you...and that's pretty weird if you ask me.
12. In fact, no one is forcing you to be in college at all.
Maybe your parents pressured you or you felt like you had to go to college. Whatever it may be, you're here on your own account. That's strange. This may be the most adult decision you've made thus far...how weird is that?
13. Condoms are always free and pretty much located everywhere.
They're in the dorms, they're in the medical centers, they're in the union. They're basically everywhere and they're always free. Super weird...but also super convenient. Take advantage of that while you still can.
14. But for some reason...you still need to pay for printing.
And let's be real, we all have that one professor that basically forces you to print an entire tree worth of paper in one semester. Goodbye money.
15. You're paying thousands of dollars to specialize in just one thing.
Hear me out: there are so many cool things you could be doing in the world, but you're paying thousands of dollars to learn how to do one thing really, really well. Why do humans do that? Seems pretty odd.
16. There's always a drinking special going on close to campus.
Margarita Monday? Tequila Tuesday? $15 fishbowls on Wednesday? Thirsty Thursday? Sign me up.
As you can see, college is a pretty weird place. The social norms are much different (and much better) than the real world. So, enjoy your four years at this strange, strange place as much as you possibly can.
