So you have finally made it; you are in college! Let the parties, new best friends, and adventures begin. Somewhere in between this fantasy life happens and I'm going to tell you this Mean Girls style.
College is like a rollercoaster of emotions, weight gain, and horrible cafeteria food. Sometimes it is really weird and uncomfortable, like you're wearing a pair of pants that don't quite fit, but you squeeze into because you will lose that weight, right? Just hang in there like Cady in Mean Girls when she comes to the United States, and hang out with The Plastics. Just kidding, don't do that.
1. You will miss the crap out of your mom.
Before college, sure, you loved your mom and she was your probably your best friend (at least mine was), but once you go to college, you miss her and realize just how amazing she REALLY was. Whether it be cleaning up after you, doing your laundry, or drying your tears after petty drama; she is your rock, and being without her is torture. This woman birthed you, and you saw her everyday, and suddenly her warm hug is no longer a few feet away.
2. Alcohol is no longer taboo.
Before college, I thought boxed wine was just something that girls dressed up as for Halloween that I saw on my Instagram feed. Wine Wednesday? Sure! Thirsty Thursday? Okay, why not?! In high school, if anyone says this, you would just assume they were a full blown alcoholic. But once you hit college, you will be able to pick out the moscato-filled dorm across the hall, and there is little shame to this act.
3. Freshman fifteen is actually real.
Before college, I had heard about the coveted and dreaded "Freshman 15", but I basically ignored it because that wasn't going to happen to me, duh! LOL, right. Catching a glimpse of myself in the horrible fluorescent-lit communal bathrooms where I am lucky enough to bathe, I just about jumped out of my skin when I saw the Pillsbury DoughGirl looking back at me. But pizza is probably worth it, honestly. #NoRagrets
4. You meet an array of people.
When it comes to college and girls, you will meet all kinds: the crazies, the evil -- but you will also meet your best friends. Sure, you have your friends at home, but it's all about the friends who bring you chocolate when you're having a bad day, who will shamelessly stalk people on Instagram with you, and who will have your back always. These people see you at your absolute best when you ace an exam, and your absolute worst when Wine Wednesday goes abruptly wrong; this is truly beautiful.
5. College is like, really really hard.
In high school, you could get away with slacking on homework a little bit, with maybe not studying as much as you should, and still manage to get a decent grade. College? Study for about three days straight, and pull out a hardly-passing grade. It's also not exactly enjoyable to attempt to decipher what your professor is saying when they barely speak english, or it's 8 AM. Man, I love college almost as much as Asher Roth.
6. Sleep deprivation happens.
Sleep deprivation is real, it happens, and it is awful. Superhuman powers somehow enable us to stay awake cramming for an exam, but when the sleep deprivation hits, so do the tears sometimes; and just the urgent need for a nap. When this urge hits, make sure you're not in a public place, and lay down for your nap time.
7. Skipping class is now an option.
For some God-forsaken reason, I was able to wake up and get to high school (most of the time) for 8 AM. Once you get to college, 8 AM is better known as the daily zombie run. For all of the brave souls who actually attend their 8 AM's, campus kind of reflects a cemetery with walking zombies in sweatpants disguised as young adults, and as the day progresses, herds of zombies and humans alike begin to surface. There are still some people who take a large amount of "personal" days though, with many causes, such as weather. Takeaway: college students will find any excuse they can to skip that dreadful early morning lab, or to take a sick day from that awful english class.
8. You never realized how difficult being an adult is.
At home, you took everything for granted, what is grocery shopping? Suddenly, you're blatantly aware of just how much you don't have a damn clue about in this world. Just like High School Musical though, we're all in this together, and the freshmen struggle is not felt by just a few people. Admit it - you wore your lanyard around your neck during Welcome Week.
9. COLLEGE IS AWESOME!
College is the ultimate liberation of our lives, and we get the chance to start over. If you want to let your hair down and dabble in the party life, go for it! If not, that’s awesome too, because the plethora of people in college allows for minimal boredom. Nobody will know about the boy you were obsessed with in middle school, or that time you puked on yourself in elementary school. Promise.
