Summer is coming to an end folks. I know this because my tan is already starting to fade and apparently Michaels and everyone and their mother has their fall decorations out already. Not just fall but also Halloween. So, therefore, Summer is over. Time to start marching our way towards our hair getting darker, skin getting dry and pale, and eating our weight in Christmas cookies while bleeding our bank accounts dry on presents we feel obligated to get people. I might explain in another article why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but that is a story for another time.
Anyways, Summer is over. But, that means back to school! Or if you're a real adult you continue to just work but it gets colder. Do you guys remember when you were a Freshman? Whoa! Those little people who you used to be will be walking alongside you on campus in just a couple weeks. Those little people who you used to be are literally tinier than you and fresh off their high school achievements and glory and they will probably take over your city and try to steal your men, but let's give them a warm welcome, girls! If you think of all the ways you embarrassed yourself Freshman year, don't you get a sliver of enjoyment in knowing that year after year people will do the same things you did and potentially even worse?! Observing freshmen is better than any reality T.V. you could consume. All kidding aside I actually love showing people the ropes and mentoring people. But I do wish I was as skinny as I was going into freshman year. These girls have no idea the havoc that eating messy fries at 3 a.m. will wreak on their lives. Or just easy access to french fries in general. Homesickness makes you eat. Eating makes your pants not fit. Then you're homesick for your jeans that no longer fit. It's a vicious cycle. Sadly, boys will also eat the messy fries, right next to you in fact, and you can actually see them getting skinnier! It's incredible. They're the worst. They burn all their calories snap chatting ten girls at once which if done right, can be quite taxing.
As much as I would love to relive Freshman year (even including my crush throwing up down my cowboy boot one time), here are some things I've realized about being a rising junior.
1. You really know your lay of the land
You know the locations of all the Starbucks in relation to the class buildings like the back of your hand. You have your favorite restaurant you can't wait to go back to with all your friends!
2. You have friends
And they're probably pretty awesome! Nice job!
3. You're prepared to run into people all the time
And it's not necessarily a bad thing! You are no longer surprised at running into that one boy who never texted you back because the likelihood of running into people also means you run into that sweet girl from your dorm your first year.
4. You're halfway done
This is bad because these last two years flew by and I don't know about you, but I don't really want to leave somewhere it's acceptable to always have a four day weekend and it's normal to go out on a Tuesday night. On the other hand, if I had to leave right now I'd be crushed, but I would think "man, I had a killer time." So if you think of it like you have two bonus years then the reality isn't that bad!
5. There is still time to meet some amazing people
This is just kind of wild to think about. You have the same amount of time left as you have experienced from incoming freshman up until this point. Can you remember a time without your new besties?! Just think about who you could meet in that same time til graduation. Just putting it out to the universe that I am ~pretty set~ on the whole girlfriends quota of people in my life so if we could maybe add in some gentlemen in the remaining time that would be fantastic!
6. You haven't stopped getting homesick
For some reason I thought it would get easier but at least for me it didn't. After my Mom just moved me in and I dropped her off, I cried the whole way back to Tuscaloosa from the Birmingham airport. Like tears flying out of my eyes and hitting the steering wheel.
7. You have some decent knowledge to share
You may not be a total expert at life yet but you probably know the night life places you can and can't get into. This is helpful so you don't embarrass yourself at a fine establishment such as Gallette's on a gameday in front of your whole family the first time they visit (speaking of course about a friend's experience not my own obviously). You also know that pretty much every mishap of college that you thought was a huge deal turned out to be diddly squat. Maybe you even studied abroad for a little bit and it ~shaped you~. Maybe you've learned how to spot a sleazy boy from a path on the quad away. All important experiences and life skills.
Wherever you go to school and no matter what year you are I hope you have a great year and enjoy not full-on adulting! For those of you reading this who have jobs but it just gets colder, I hope the gods of pumpkin spice will be with you this fall!