Admittedly, college is one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced.
Whenever I am there, I feel like I am in a bubble that only contains my university and people between the ages of 18-25. (Like when I see a baby, I am completely shook). However, when I step back and think about the things that I do as a college student, they are so strange and dysfunctional. The cool thing about it though, is that everyone around me is doing the same exact stuff.
Here are some of my examples of things that are part of the norm for college students:
1. Not eating actual meals
Often, I don’t have enough time to find/make a balanced meal for myself. Honestly, most of the time I am lucky if I eat at all during the day. I find myself forgetting to eat during the day then as soon as night rolls around, a beast awakens inside me and I need to eat everything that I see.
2. Sleep is a stranger
Whether you aren’t sleeping because you are too busy working on homework, papers, or studying for your exam or you aren’t sleeping because you are putting yourself out there and trying to make memories, sleep is so hard to come by. There have been so many times where I finally reach my bed and I still can’t sleep because I haven’t calmed down from the day.
3. Failure is accepted, if not celebrated
So many times have I walked out of an exam or gotten midterms back and a pit forms in my stomach because I am unhappy with the grades that I am looking at. However, without fail, I have turned to my classmates and they are in the same situation. Failing together is something that brings all college students together.
4. Caffeine is its own food group
Holy crap, am I intensely caffeinated all day, every day. At least once a day I am making a trip to Starbucks or out to Dutch Bros for a red bull. I can’t help but need caffeine when I can’t find any time to get quality sleep.
5. Grocery shopping is an activity to do with friends
Especially when you go to school in a small town like Pullman, WA where everything closes at like 9 p.m. Not to mention, when you are in college you are so busy doing other things that it is only reasonable to hang out with friends while doing other things on your to-do list. Plus, going grocery shopping by yourself is no fun at all.
6. Dressing yourself for class is a daily struggle
Because there are so many other things to care about in college, putting on real people clothes for a class is pretty low on the totem pole. It doesn’t help when people show up to class in a onesie every day (someone seriously showed up to one of my bio classes in a unicorn onesie every day).
7. "Breaks" aren’t actually breaks
If we’re talking about breaks between classes or in the evening, usually that is filled with homework, studying, club meetings, events, and other obligations of the sort. When it comes to breaks for the holidays or summer, this time is usually spent working, completely shadowing hours, internships, or more school. The work is never-ending. Is that what it’s like to a real adult? Count me out, please.
8. Stress eating you alive
Everyone that is in college is stressed about something. It could be anything from family matters to passing their classes, getting a job after school to just graduating at all. People are stressed to the max.
9. Simultaneously having the best time of your life and the worst time of your life
College is one of the most peculiar things I have ever had the privilege to experience. I am constantly hating my life, telling myself that I am going to drop out tomorrow, walking around like a zombie because I haven’t been properly rested in three years. But somehow, I find myself pushing through all the hard times, meeting the most wonderful people, and smiling so much that my face goes numb.
So folks, if you learned anything from this list I hope that it was that college is a big ol’ scam that is long, difficult and exhausting, but you’ll have an amazing time along the way.
