The point in the semester has rolled around where the excitement of seeing your friends again has worn off, and midterms are looming around the corner. I know the story; you had three classes, a lab, a club meeting, and a rec sports game.
By the time you could finally eat something, every dining place on campus had closed its doors. With all the stress that surrounds college life, it’s easy to forget everything there is to be thankful for. So just for a minute, close out of Blackboard, put the calculator down, and think about all the great things you get to experience every day.
1. Living with your best friends.
If you’re as lucky as me, your best friends sleep five feet away from you. Even if you don’t love your roommates, odds are most of your close friends are less than a building away.
It’s easy to get annoyed with each other over who took out the trash last; but when graduation rolls around and you have to get on a plane to see the people you spent the past four years with, you’ll realize how incredible it was to be surrounded by them every day.
2. Always having someone to order food with.
Whether it’s ordering pizza at midnight or walking through the McDonald’s drive-thru after a night out, there are few things more enjoyable than junk food and good friends. Even if you never go to the gym to burn off that third slice like you planned, at least, you had fun eating it.
3. Never having to be bored.
Whether you choose to volunteer, do club sports, or participate in Greek life, there is no shortage of activities on college campuses.
Even though it may be annoying to wake up to nine emails every day about everything from art exhibits to decorating your own keychain, there are few times in life that you have all these experiences available to you.
4. Naps.
Even if it’s only 17 minutes long.
5. Having five closets to choose from.
You may be too broke to even window shop, but you never have to worry about repeating an outfit. With a dozen different doors on your floor, odds are someone is your size and everyone is more than willing to share.
6. Experiencing new things every day.
There are few other times in your life when you are surrounded, and often forced to talk to, so many people all with different backgrounds. Whether you went to school twenty minutes from home or twenty hours, there are new people and adventures that surround you every day.
So brew another pot of coffee, take a deep breath, and remember you’ll get through this. Take in all of these moments, and enjoy the only four years in life that it will be socially acceptable to tack your "The Office" poster above your bed.
