1. Leaving Home:

Leaving home is the first struggle that college students face, and it might leave you wanting to never grow up. One minute your mommy is doing your laundry and making you snacks, and the next minute she throws you out into the real world where you might even have to schedule your own dentist appointments. It’s a frightening world out there, and it all starts with college.

2. College Sports:

For those of us who choose to further our athletic careers at the college level, sports can play a huge role in the college experience. From early morning conditioning to afternoon practice, college athletics are equally exciting and challenging. As depicted by Swift, sports can also be a frustrating and humorous part of the college experience. You may wonder when you’ll make it out of the woods, but keep playing.

3. Realizing college is harder than high school:

After the initial excitement and thrill of moving away from home, the studying starts to set in, and there’s a realization that studying is actually a necessary part of college. It may take a few failed exams and maybe a change of major to get in the swing of things… but figuring it all out is half the fun. Perhaps you should’ve said “no” to that last movie night with your girls and spent that time hitting the books instead!

4. You meet the best friends of your life:

For your entire life up until college, you were most likely friends with whoever you lived closest to and whoever you shared classes with. However, college is much more diverse and allows you to meet people from all over the place. You finally meet other students that share your interests, and you make friends on a deeper level while getting away from the drama of high school. There’s no more bad blood anymore because college is where you establish your true #squad.

5. Try out the club scene:

Part of the full college experience includes testing the waters of the club scene. If you’re like Taylor, then your dancing skills are probably not top-notch. However, just own your moves, shake it off, and go cut a rug anyway.

6. Realize you miss your cat back home:

Not only do you miss your family back home, but you also miss your pets. You would be lying to yourself if you deny ever attempting to stuff your fat cat in your overnight bag headed back to your lonely apartment. Your cat could really come in handy on those stressful days when you just want to snuggle.

7. Spring break trip:

You’ve been working hard all semester, and now it’s finally time for a vacation. Take that trip to the most fabulous beach location that you couldn’t even imagine in your wildest dreams because you deserve some much needed beach time with friends and sunshine. Time to relax and rest up for the dreaded….

8. Finals week:

Say goodbye to sleep and sanity. You’ll spend a few nights slaving over study guides and research papers, but hang in there. Finals may have you feeling like a nightmare, but all the hard work you’ve put in will pay off! With enough preparation, you’ll be able to fill in all the blank space on that exam. Dry those tears- the pain is worth it because success never goes out of style.