1. The exorbitant number of times people skip class.
A plain simple fact about college is that even though people are paying an arm and a leg to get an education, they still won't go to class. In a lot of cases, professors will not count attendance, so most students live on the policy that if they do their work and show up for exams they'll be in the clear. You'll definitely notice when the person who sits in their unassigned assigned seat next to yours isn't there and you'll have to accept that you might only see them five times that semester after syllabus week.
2. Campus food and all its misery.
Some campuses are blessed with a wide variety of amazing dining options daily, with gourmet looking foods that end up on their Snapchat stories and others, well, they didn't get so lucky. You can only take the same ten places on campus for every meal so often before your body starts rejecting the food. It may mess with your stomach at first, you may get bored, and if you're trying to lose weight- I feel for you. And to all my vegetarians and vegans- I'm sorry if you're stuck on one of the campuses where you don't have many options.
3. Nights spent on a bathroom floor.
College is a time for you to learn about yourself, and a lot of people utilize their weekend time to learn about their bodies- more specifically how much their liver can handle before their own bodies betray them. Sometimes you'll be the one who needs to be taken care of and the other times you'll have to take care of your friends. What goes around comes around so you'll have to get used to the give and take system of taking care of people, even if that means sitting behind your friend from across the hall for 3 hours rubbing their back and forcing them to drink water.
4. The free time that you have to fill up.
There is only a certain amount of time that your classes will take up and how you choose to spend your free time will really alter your college experience. There are people that are very involved and there are others that only leave their bed to get food and go to class. Getting a job, spending time outside, getting into new hobbies, joining clubs, and attending school events are all positive ways to enhance your time in college. Make the most of your time that you have without responsibilities to make yourself the person you want to be.
5. People who go out four nights a week, every single week.
The party animals of college will probably drink you under the bus and be paying for it later on in life, but there is no stopping them. They probably have all night classes and will sleep in until noon everyday of the week no matter what. You really wonder how they can even manage this and where all this money is coming from for them to go out so much. Chances are, they've been going out like that all of high school but if you have a friend that you're legitimately worried about, don't be afraid to bring it up to them.
6. The exorbitant amount of money you’ll end up spending.
Hopefully you get a job to cover all the Ubers, food trips, day trips, club fees, and laundry you'll be doing throughout the semester. But if not, your parents will probably get sick of making deposits every week for you to blow through. Checking your online banking app will forever cause a sense of fear and panic within you. Sometimes you have $1.02 and other times you'll be surprised to see a hundred plus dollars on your debit card.
7. The realization of not liking your roommate as much as you thought you would.
You thought they would be your best friend. You thought you would be friends forever. You thought they would be your maid of honor or your best man- but sometimes that's just not the case. Maybe you'll be best friends with someone down the hall or that one person that seems to be in every one of your classes, or maybe someone you met during orientation. No matter what, always be civil and respectful to the person you're sharing your space with. It could save a lot of problems from happening in the end. And don't worry, it goes by faster than you think and at times you may even have the privilege to get a new roommate before the year concludes.
8. How close you’ll get to people in such a short amount of time.
This is probably one of the weirdest parts about college. You get ridiculously close to the people you're around a lot and probably know things about them that you never needed to know. But other than all their gross or weird tendencies, you get to learn a lot of awesome things about them and their lives. You know the things that bother them, and things that they're insecure about, and how they get when they're drunk. You'll understand how they respond to stress and exactly what advice to give them or when they don't even need advice at all. You'll love them for all their quirks and every amazing quality they possess even if you get frustrated with them once in a while or once a day or once an hour. Keep the good ones close and don't be afraid of telling them you love 'em once in a while.
