As this school year comes to a close and with finals week around the corner, I have been reminiscing and reflecting upon my freshman year of college. I've had so many good times and have made such amazing friends in my first year, but what really sticks out to me about this year is the ways that college was so much different than I had ever pictured.

1. I still feel like I'm 15 years old

This summer, I will turn a whopping 20 years old. I was lucky enough to spend my last teenage year in college at Michigan State, but where has the time gone? Isn't it still like, 2014? Either way, I thought going to college would make me feel more adult-like and mature, but in all reality, I still feel like an awkward high schooler who is afraid of speaking to "real adults" and still has my mom set up all of my doctor’s appointments.

2. Sleep trumps literally everything

As I write this story, I dream of laying in my bed and napping the day away. Most of the time in college if there is a choice between a nap or getting to bed early, sleep is the clear winner. Use sleep as a meal replacement? Of course. Study for that big test you have tomorrow or take a four-hour nap hoping to wake up refreshed and ready to cram? Nap. Bored and deciding whether to watch a late night movie, hit the caf or go to bed early? Hop into those pjs and pass the heck out. Sleep fixes everything, or so I figure. I came into college wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to pull all-nighters and stay up till the wee morning hours, but it only took about two weeks of me staying up util 3 a.m. every night for me to figure out that going to bed at 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. is a much better plan.

3. Studying is the worst

In high school, I never really had to study. Now that I’m in college, studying for things is actually a really important part of your success – one that I am not very good at. I was a straight-A student in high school, then I got to college and got below 70% on three consecutive exams. Then I was forced to give in and head to the library, tail between my legs and admitting defeat.

4. There is a never-ending cycle of homework

In high school, I would go home after school, sit at my kitchen countertop and do all my homework for the next few days. Even with AP homework, this usually took only a couple hours and I was free to do whatever I wanted for the rest of the day and not worry about homework on the weekends. In college, the time you spend thinking that you are done with your homework is just time spent procrastinating because there is ALWAYS something that is due. When it comes to homework, I follow the very simple model of: if it’s not due until tomorrow, do tomorrow.

5. My bank account depletes FAST

It’s hard for me to check my bank account without wanting to vomit, go curl up in a corner and lay there forever. I was always provided with everything when I was at home, but now that I’m away, I *gasp* actually have to buy things with my own money.

6. Relatable college student posts are sometimes too relatable

It seems as though someone who runs these social media accounts literally has a view into my brain and can see my every thought, so they put them into writing. All high schoolers like and retweet the posts on Twitter by those college student accounts, but little do they know that those will take on a new light when they actually get to college. I too, was a naïve little freshman this year, coming in and thinking that high school was hard yet I did well, so college won’t be much different – but oh was I wrong.

7. Everything is annoying

You just have to get numb to the feeling of disappointment because something will always bug you, like when someone who never comes to class shows up one random day and takes your unassigned assigned seat. Or when the cafeteria runs out of mashed potatoes just as you are getting there to eat. Or when it snows in the middle of April so you can’t go outside without getting frostbite. But whatever, you’re so used to it by now that it doesn’t even surprise you.

This list could go on and on and on about all of the things I have learned during my freshman year in college, but I’m going to leave it at these seven. Overall, college is a wild ride, and it is so much fun. The opportunities are endless and you get to meet great people. As excited as I am for school to be over, I’m just as sad to leave behind all the memories of my freshman year.