I graduated from Grand Canyon University in December 2017 and I've experienced something that all grads can understand. It's campus life withdrawals and you don't expect it hit you until it hits you HARD.

You could be scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed and see all the Welcome Week posts from friends still on campus or posts from the many GCU affiliated accounts you happen to follow. You might even get a notification from Facebook Memories of moving into the dorms or apartments yourself just a year ago, two years ago, or maybe even three years ago.

Then, there's a growing feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) when you realize that campus life lives on when you're not on campus.

The reminiscing goes on and the withdrawals start to show. You start to wear ALL of your free t-shirts every day and you find yourself saying things like "Well when I was in school..." or "This one time on campus..." People will look at you weird because you sound ridiculous, but it's just because they truly don't understand the magic behind YOUR college campus experience.

To fully understand what it's like being a GCU grad missing campus life, I guess you had to be there. Just in case, though, you need to just know this:

LOPES do campus life right! 

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There's so much energy and life on campus happening every day. You can't attend GCU and not have at least an ounce of pride for what's happening on campus.

And finally, to graduation!

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I'm telling you graduation is the crazy big goodbye party you don't want to miss. It is the neat and perfect bow to wrap up the best college experience.

College students that choose to be uninvolved in everything truly miss out on the best experiences and won't know it until their college grads.

I miss dorm and apartment life on campus and the ability to see my friends in a matter of minutes just by walking down the hall. I miss having a free gym and the many opportunities to go to a concert. I miss bowling on campus and designing club meetings. Yes, I even miss the food sometimes.

I may never miss the parking situation going on on campus, but college was WAY more than being frustrated at the little things.

What college grads miss the most about campus life is the community. And yes, GCU does that super well.

It's no wonder that we made it in the top 10 best campuses in the U.S. Seriously, though, if you haven't heard of the GCU Havocs or the LOPES at all, are you living under a rock?