As a recent graduate, I could probably write a novel on the roller coaster that is one's college experience. Assuming you're an undergraduate, I know you wouldn't read said novel. So, here's a Sparknotes summary of college, one semester at a time:
Freshman Year, Semester One
After high school graduation, you'd predicted the world would end before you stepped foot on the campus of your new home. Miraculously, it's not a daydream: It's happening, and with information being thrown at you faster than you said your hometown goodbyes. You quickly realize, that your only alone time is in the shower (and in the bathrooms of house parties, before you've made friends.) For your first night outing, you wear a skintight dress with tags on it, only to find that cut-up shirt is the better choice when punch flies. The shoulder bag wasn't your brightest idea, either. The frat you went to was strikingly similar to the movies you'd seen, and your vocal chords are not cut out for it. It makes sense that you're out until 5 a.m. some nights, yet you can't help but wonder why people are studying at 2 a.m. in the hall lounge. You identify people in your hall, classes, or extracurriculars that seem "like you." Cue the group messages, denoting where you're going, when you're getting lunch, and what you're wearing. When you get a free moment, you Instagram a group picture to prove to people at home that you are alive and, in fact, thriving.
Freshman Year, Semester Two
Wait, they're friends? To your dismay and relief, the high school cliquishness is almost nonexistent... People unashamedly talk to people different than themselves. You have established your "college best friends." You're more confident in your social circle, but you avoid the dining hall and normal campus routes so as to not run into the kid you danced (scandalously, oh my!) with last night. God forbid you kissed or did more, because the paranoia is tenfold... everyone that glances your way must be silently judging you. Rooming decisions at the end of the year become the first test of conflict resolution. If you can survive confrontation and people feeling left out, the best is yet to come. While not prepared for the housing drama, you did learn from first semester's milder F-ups, and you return prepared with rain boots.
Sophomore Year, Semester One
Your first summer break in college felt like a lifetime, so you're eager to link up and exchange stories with your school friends. Going into your second year is exciting, because you know which relationships you want to pursue and which you can do without. You're also confident that you've figured out everyone's character... but, plot twist: Sh*t hits the fan and drama unfolds. You either take sides or remain neutral, making group chat inclusions, plans, and interactions inevitably awkward. At least you like your classes and who you conveniently chose to take them with. New questions arise: Are so-and-so and I still "a thing?" Am I content with the hookup culture, or do I want something more? You study your thoughts but can come up with stat solutions quicker than answers to real-life affairs.
Sophomore Year, Semester Two
We're, like, halfway graduated! You've mastered this college thing by now, or so you think. At the very least, you feel comfortable assuming role of DJ wherever there are speakers. You're also aware of events that you missed out on last year, and you're first in line for freebies... especially complementary coffee. If you were partial to Frappuccinos before, you're now hooked on caffeine, and your food money is ever dwindling. Not dwindling are the ever-increasing ideas of tasks to fulfill before graduating. The college bucket list is born.
Junior Year, Semester One
It has taken this long, but you now know shortcuts to downtown and which highway exit your favorite fro-yo place is on. You're also suddenly taken aback that the new freshman class is barely 18 years of age while you and your friends are turning 21. You're confident in your priorities, and you're proud that the Pinterest-inspired room decor that you imagined freshman year is finally coming together. You go through a phase in which you really want a dog, but you're not sure that budget would coincide with your new Uber and bar-going preferences. #classy
Junior Year, Semester Two
Does GPA matter? You ask yourself this constantly while attempting to balance academics, social life, and sleep. Which will you look back on and remember: a night of textbook reading or a night of spontaneity? The answer seems obvious. Not so obvious, however, is whether or not you'll have an internship for the following summer. The more you think about it, the more determined you are to remain in college forever.
Senior Year, Semester One
Let the firsts of the lasts begin. Senior or senior citizen? You're not always sure. For example, your underclassman neighbors are still blaring music on Tuesday night. Been there, done that... sleep now seems more ideal. You assume that every unrecognizable student on campus is younger than you, and you go with it when someone assumes you're a first-year. The age gap you realized last year is even more apparent, and you feel uncomfortable being in a room with freshies past 9 p.m. Girls in the dining hall are comparing last spring's prom dresses, and you and your classmates are talking about where you'll be and what you'll be doing after graduation. What you're no longer talking about is what you'll be wearing places, because you're a senior and don't need to impress anybody. Sweats for days.
Senior Year, Semester Two
Yup, it's happening: You're a few months away from graduation, provided your grades and emotions stay intact. You want to spend time with the people you value as much as possible, but you also yearn for engagement in large social circles for the last time. Cue the bucket list revival, with alterations and deadlines to assure tasks are feasible. While you happen to dig up this list, you can't find other miscellaneous items in your room. Whatever, you're moving out soon, so you can justifiably living sloppily for the remainder of your college career. You'll miss this lifestyle almost as much as you'll miss seeing your friends and even familiar strangers on a daily basis. For whatever reason, you can acknowledge your sentimentality in discussion, but it's not until you're alone (so, in the shower, as realized freshman year) that you fight back tears... tears representing sadness that this phase of life will soon be over, but also appreciation for all of the uplifting experiences that make "the end" sad. A good cry and cleansing later, you're ready to take some last group photos and, more importantly, create some final college memories.
