1. Take responsibility for your mistakes.

No one expects you to be perfect. College is a time when you are supposed to fail and learn from those failures. However, they are your mistakes to be made, not your parents. If you happen to forget about an exam or sleep through your alarm, the fault is entirely yours. You have no one else to blame but yourself. Learn to accept that and own up to your mistakes.

2. Clean up your own garbage.

One of the things I was most excited about when starting college was my apartment. I had a kitchen and bathroom, and I was ready to "adult." I knew it was my job to clean up my place. No one was going to clean up after me, take the garbage out, or do the dishes. It was all on me! No one likes it when the trash smells, so remember to take it out and be smart about your space.

Here's a tip: Most likely if you're done eating it, others are done smelling it.

3. Help people when their hands are full.

Are manners a thing of the past? They must be since the event of having someone hold the door open for you is rarely seen today. Something to remember: If you see someone with their hands full, don't be an ass and shut the door on them. Just open the door for them and smile. You might make a friend or maybe even meet "the one."

If I see someone walking to the door with packages, bags, books, or their computer, I am not going to look the other way and pretend I don't see them. It is clear they are not invisible, and they are struggling. Why would I not hit the automatic button to open a door?

This also goes for elevator doors. Someone should not have to scream, "Can you hold the elevator?" If you see someone running, have the foresight to keep the elevator door open for them. This simple act of kindness takes two seconds, and it might make a difference between someone bleeding through a tampon or getting to a class on time.

4. Keep an umbrella with you.

Florida weather sucks! It will rain at least once every day so keep an umbrella with you. However, please keep it pointed down, I don't want to lose my eye at the tender age of twenty. Your umbrella is not a weapon of mass destruction.

5. Look where you're going in the parking garage.

We are not in a scene from "The Fast and the Furious." I frankly do not understand why you feel the need to exceed the speed limit in a parking garage. Try to be a conscientious driver and look where you're going, just like you would if you were driving on the street. Also, just because your drunk doesn't mean you can park like a jackass and take up three spaces.

And lastly…

6. Don't forget about your laundry.

If you start a load of laundry, please do not forget about it. I do not know how one can even forget about their clothes, sheets or towels. Please understand you are not at home anymore, and Mommy and Daddy won't pick up your slack, nor will they remind you to move your laundry. In college, you are on your own, and small things like doing the laundry are steps toward adulthood.

Please understand you share these machines with plenty of people, all with busy lives and responsibilities. Keep a timer if you tend to forget things easily. However, I am not your mom, nor will a fold the laundry you forget.

Storytime: The reason for writing this article was that over the weekend I waited 12 hours for some girl to move her laundry from the washer to the dryer. I finally got so fed up, I moved her clothes myself, and guess what? By the time I finished my laundry, she had still not come back for her clothes. However, that pail in comparison to a fiasco from my freshman year. Someone threw up on their clothes and just put it in the wash. Then, when I did my laundry, I had bile salts from a stranger's vomit all over my sheets. It took four washes and a bottle of bleach to get the stains and smells out.

Here is another lesson to remember: If you throw up on yourself, rinse the vomit off your clothes before putting them in the laundry.