1. Acceptance

The first step to conquering any challenge is acceptance. Whether you have been given this task or you have put it upon yourself, it is time to hunker down and accept that you have signed a large quantity of your time and sanity away by painting this cooler.

2. Research

It may be by joining the infamous “cooler connection” Facebook group or even by getting detailed instructions from a friend or sorority sister, but this is the most tedious stage by far. You must be patient and focused in learning everything there is to know about your cooler and how to make it perfect and boy-proof.

3. Blueprinting

By talking to the person you are painting for, scrolling tirelessly through Pinterest and Facebook groups, and using your imagination, you start to piece together what your cooler is going to look like. You are so excited to get started and bring your ideas to life that you are willing to start painting, even if it is 3 a.m.

4. Execution

You know everything you need to know, you have detailed drawings and pictures saved to your phone, and you are ready to get started. You’re giddy and excited because everything is finally starting to come together. And for the hundredth time, yes, you must sand.

5. Meltdown

It’s been a few days and you’ve already downed four bottles wine while painting this thing, and you’re starting to get antsy. And then it happens. Your roommate walks in and tips over the remains of your last bottle of white paint, and you lose it. This is the least-anticipated and most-dreaded stage of the cooler process. Be aware that you will have at least one meltdown, and the only way it can be fixed is with a fifth bottle of wine and a long nap.

6. Finishing touches

After what feels like an eternity of you slaving over this stupid plastic box, you are finally finished with every last detail. The paintings are breathtaking, and your last coat of sealer is drying. Its time to kick your feet up and edit your pictures, because this beauty is dying to be Instagramed.

7. The big reveal

The day comes when it is time to hand it over, and everything is bitter sweet. You feel like a mother on the first day of kindergarten, handing over her baby and walking away knowing of the possible dangers in store without your supervision. Despite this pain, there is nothing quite like the look on that stupid boy's face when you hand him his cooler. They’re always in awe and are so excited to show it off and brag about how hard you have worked.

8. Grieving

After a few days it starts to hit you how much fun you had creating your masterpiece. You miss the late nights you and your cooler spent together watching Netflix and the outstanding feeling of perfectly free-handing that beer logo you were straining over. You wish you could have kept your baby, even though its designs were totally irrelevant to you and it has some fraternity letters plastered on the side. Your heart aches for your work of art that you had to give away.

9. Repeat

Let’s face it. With cooler painting, there is no one and done. The focus you need to maintain and the praise you get after the fact is addicting. These things become our everything. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into them, and the process becomes a part of us. Once you get started, there is no turning back.