Choosing to go to an art college was definitely one of the harder decisions I had to make in my teenage years. Picking the right college for yourself is scary, and I, like most people wanted to make sure I got the college experience I had been dreaming of since the House Bunny and College Road Trip. Yeah, going to SCAD meant I had to let go of Greek life and football tailgates, but I learned that most college cliches are universal... No matter what school you choose to go to.

1. Ramen Noodles and Easy Mac Become Your Soul Food

Looking back on my first year off at college, I realized that I did not adjust to the meal plan as well as I thought I would. Maybe I am just spoiled to my mother's cooking, but pizza and chicken fingers will never taste the same after you eat them twice a day... seven days a week. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. After the first month or two, I gave up trying to force feed "The Hive" (The dining hall at SCAD) down my throat and began scheming every way possible of getting around it. I used my dining dollars, which could only buy you slightly more ediable crap, that was overpriced to the point where you began thinking it was actually the quality of it's dollar value... It's not. When I finally came to this sad realization, I pulled out my last option, which while it might not be the healthiest option, I was left with no choice. Sam's Club bulk of Ramen noodles and Easy Mac and Cheese. It changed my life. First off, if you are pre-gaming and realize you haven't eaten dinner (which can be a very slippery slope if you continue), Ramen noodles or Easy Mac are the perfect and quickest meals available for you right there in the vicinity of your drinking... Easy access. Ramen became more to me than this as the months went on, as it actually turned into my comfort food. Sick in bed without your mom to make you chicken noodle soup? Well, Ramen quickly will become your second best option. I swear to keep myself from getting sick of it as months and months when on, I began to get a little creative. I would actually buy cilantro, Sriracha sauce, soy sauce and limes, and make it a fancy noodle bowl! Yeah, I went there. But when you are done laughing at me for going to these extreme measures, you shouldn't knock it before you try it... It's revolutionary.

2. The Library Becomes Your Second Home

My dad insinuated this concept before I went to school and I laughed in disbelief. Freshman year, partially living at the library... Yeah, right. As I had just finished up my senior year of doing absolutely nothing but fun senior events, it was almost impossible to imagine myself a few months later, sitting at a library desk for hours upon hours. If anything I would study in the comfort of my own bed, but a library? No way. I was horribly mistaken. Even going to art school, I practically live at our library. Of course, the art school perks include being able to have a library so beautiful, it could be in an a magazine. But the library becomes your safe haven in college. It's the one place on campus that everyone actually has to shut up, and that rule is respected because everyone has the same understanding... And the same motive of getting shit done. Also, as much as I love my three roommates, it can get a little distracting in our small space and with my bed being so close to my reach, I'm way too likely to curl up on my three, stacked tempur-pedic mattress toppers and knock out. The library is that one place where you are able to force yourself to get the most done with the least amount of distractions possible.

3. You Are Broke, but It's Okay because so is Everyone Else

I did not know how well I had it in high school until I was out from under my parent's roof. I am fortunate enough to receive an allowance, but even with that I had to say goodbye to mall trips and eating out whenever I wanted to. It's the weekends that are what actually kill your bank account. Through out the week, you do well, eat at the dorm without any additional costs on your debit card, until it hits Thursday night (SCAD doesn't have class on Friday's) and then your down to negative ten cents in your checking while your untouchable savings mocks you. It's the insane bar tabs you receive after offering half the bar tequila shots "on you", because for some reason at that moment you thought that was even slightly a good idea; It's the stupid amount of unlimited Ubers from here and there, because the party wasn't fun or there's an even more fun one somewhere else, or you want to go home, etc.; and it's also the fast food runs at the end of the night where you ordered everything off the dollar menu because you were far too drunk to even think about nor care about cash or calories at stake in the process. RIP.

4. All Nighters Are Practically Unavoidable

I couldn't even imagine staying up all night on a school night in high school, and now I've come to know all nighters all too well. And it's not like you mean for them to happen, sometimes they are planned, but only because you know that you have so much work that there is no other way out. And sure, it sounds fun at first to stay up with a couple of friends who are just as stressed out as you are and a pack of Redbull... But as the clock strikes 6 am and you have an 8 am class, the only thing left in you is exhaustion, panic and stress. Yet, you do it again the next week. It's because we are procrastinators, and we pay for the three seasons of New Girl we blew through in two weeks by staying up all night so we can pass our classes.

5. Drinking Becomes a Way of Passage

In high school, I only drank so that I could get drunk at "house parties" so I could flirt with the cute guys in my grade that I wouldn't otherwise. In college you gain a new sense of confidence, and guys become less and less of your incentive behind everything. Now, I drink as a reward for surviving the stressful week that has finally reached an end, and in a way it becomes almost necessary. And there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you need to "treat yo self"; find the cheapest wine you can buy with your fake ID, chug it and go out with your friends. Flirt with random guys at the bar that you have no intent of ever seeing again and do stupid things that you'll laugh about tomorrow. It's the best stress reliever there is and you are in college. These will be some of the best years of your life, so it's okay to take advantage of that.