There's nothing quite like the feeling of opening your bank account and seeing 73 cents in your checking. this, my friends, is what college is like. And you know what? Those 73 cents are useful, picking up dimes off the ground is suddenly a day maker and coins are your new buddies. College will teach you the true value of a dollar.

Theres a few reasons to be broke these days. One of them is food. Good food is abundant in the city, even in a town. I figure life is just too short not to eat everything you want at whatever cost, and lets be honest, dining dollars are dwindling.

Next is coffee, included and excluded from food. To begin, some situations simply must be handled over morning coffee, no exceptions. Also, let's think of a day without coffee, oh wait, I can't, because I have yet to have my coffee. College is nothing without coffee, and neither am I. Not to mention the raging headache that comes with caffeine withdrawal.

Clothes, shoes, accessories, whatever. They're all near and dear to my heart and harsh enemies with my wallet. These things are not only essential to life, I can't walk around naked or the fashion equivalent of naked, basic, but essential to my mental health and well being. It's a hard knock wallet for the fashionably inclined and impulsive. And I don't even need to talk about retail therapy.

Moral of the story, when the big number gets small we all learn a very important lesson; the true value of the dollar. Never have I ever been so grateful for a dollar bill on the ground in my life. The dollar gives us life, fun and sustenance, mentally and physically. Thanks to college I know know that lesson, and will never again blow through a check without slipping some in the savings account. So yes, being 18, broke and full of new knowledge is great, but nothing is better than learning what a dollar costs and knowing how to live life like an adult with monetary priorities.