Sophomore year is relaxing and enjoyable, but nothing can compare to the excitement of freshman year. The freshman year experience is something every 18 year- old dreams of. It is a whirlwind you never expected to end. And even for those first few weeks of sophomore year, you still felt that "I'm the baby" feeling, but you knew deep down it was over. Just in case you forget, here are a few signs your not a freshman, anymore.
8. Fixing your midnight hunger is no longer a quick elevator trip down. The C-store/Pod was so convenient and never failed to curb your appetite (two pizza sticks later).
7. You no longer have 12 other closets to shop from when you go out. Half the fun of going out as a freshman was getting ready in the dorms. Formal dress shopping? Nah, how about girl friend closet shopping. It is much cheaper and way more fun. Now, closet shopping requires you to get into a car and physically drive to go try on clothes, or try to fit into your much smaller roommate's clothes -- not nearly as fun of an experience.
6. Having to wake up an extra hour early just to get to class on time. Gone are the days of waking up 15 minutes before class starts and still making it with time to spare. Now, carve out a good 30 minutes for traveling, parking, and walking a mile to class. And if it is cold and icy, make that an hour.
5. After a night at the frats, home is no longer a quick walk away. It was so reassuring that no matter what happened that night, a ride home was not one of your worries. All you needed was a few friends, whose feet were also hurting, to walk to the dorms with you. A fantastic trip to the C-Store was the pot of gold on the other side of campus and totally worth the walk.
4. Sleeping is now a major priority. It seems that freshman year miraculously eliminated our need to sleep. Every night ended with an in-depth girl talk typically lasting until 3 a.m. Nowadays, staying up until midnight is a struggle in itself.
3. Invites to go out are few and far between. When living in the dorms, word traveled fast. In an instant, one girl's invite turned into 30 girls going out together. You were constantly aware of every event, party, and social gathering in the entire city of Oxford. Now, it takes a private investigator to find out where the party is.
2. The friendships you thought would never end have somehow drifted away. Dorm room neighbors were simply friends out of convenience, but they quickly turned into BFFs. It was easy to take for granted seeing them every single day, but now seeing them is so rare, especially if they are in a different sorority. Value those awesome friends while you can.
1. No longer having a plus one. Just when you start to reminisce and begin to think you're still a freshman because you are eating at the union, the words, "plus one, meal, and flex?" will bring you back to reality. Never before was flex so valued and never again will you have the option to pay for food with a system called "plus one."
Freshman year is the definition of what college is envisioned to be and, although it fades quickly, the memories never leave you. So to all the freshman out there, live it up and don't take it for granted. You can never get it back.