I have now, as of the writing of this article, completed four of my five midterms. Midterms mean we've reached the halfway point in the semester. I'm have eight weeks of college experience under my belt. In these last eight weeks, I have learned all kinds of things about the joys of college life. I've decided to compile a list of everything that I, a small freshman, have found notable about college (especially after spending four years in high school).
#1: Alternating class schedule
I adore having different MWF and TTh schedules. I only have to go to my classes every other day. I have extra time to do assignments. It's glorious. Not only that, most of my classes are consecutive. I have a class at 9, one at 11, and then not again until 2:30. I can do whatever I want in between those classes! Amazing! Why did we have the same six classes every day jam packed one right after the other? Surely we could have broken the schedule in half and alternated. I much prefer having just two to four classes a day.
#2: You are free to wander around campus
Really, all the freedom college affords me has been a shock. During the day (and I guess at night, but there's not much to do on my campus at night), I can walk around campus and hang out wherever I jolly well please. No teachers or administrators stopping and interrogating you to determine whether or not you should be in class. Nobody cares that you're working on the hallway of the English building while classes are going on so long as you're not being an utter nuisance.
#3: In general, nobody cares
Expanding on the last sentence of my previous point, college is significantly less uptight and judgmental than high school. Wearing pajamas to class? Sweet. You look comfy. Eating alone in the cafeteria? Cool beans. There won't be a campus stigma around you for being the person who eats by themselves. Nobody cares about that stuff anymore.
#4: The cafeteria food is still awful
College may be better than high school in many regards, but the quality of the cafeteria food is not one of them. Since I live in a dorm, I had to get a meal plan, which is like a punishment for deciding to live on campus. "Oh, you want conveniently located housing? You're also going to have to eat food that tastes like sadness." My diet has become significantly worse in college, comprising mainly of cheese, pasta, and potatoes.
#5: Dorm life is, um, well...
Some of you may disagree with what I'm about to say. Some may say the dorm was their favorite part of college, at which point I pity you because what a miserable college experience you must have endured if the dorm was your favorite part. I do not hate living in the dorms with a furious and burning passion, but there are nicer places to live. A cardboard box, for example. If you prefer your living space have an industrial, spartan feel, then the dorm is the perfect place for you. If not, maybe look elsewhere when it comes to putting a roof over your head.
#6: Meeting new people
I have, in the last eight weeks, met approximately four kajillion new people. You meet and talk to all kinds of people in college, likely more than you would have talked to in high school. Refer back to point number three. Nobody cares if you strike up a conversation with them. You talk to people in your classes and bond over how you're all going to fail the test. You talk to random people as you walk across campus. It's surprisingly easy to be social in college, even if you're not really a social butterfly (which I am not).
#7: An upgrade in guys
In high school, boys were, as a general rule, disappointing. And maybe college guys are equally as disappointing. I don't know. I haven't had a ton of hands-on experience on the guy front. But I will say that I've seen way more attractive guys on my college campus than I ever saw wandering around in high school and I just really appreciate that fact.
#8: So much walking
I have never done more walking than I have in the last two months of my life. At this point, I'm pretty sure I have legs so muscular and toned that Hercules would be jealous. My campus isn't gigantic, but there's still distance between the various places I need to get for my classes. I've determined that I need to download a FitBit app on my phone to see, specifically, how much I walk a day. Right now, it feels as though I walk several thousand miles a day, but that may not be entirely accurate.
#9: Ages
The weird thing about college is that I have no idea how old anyone is anymore. Not that it's a big deal. It's just bizarre going from high school, where you knew how old someone was based on their grade. In college, anything goes. There's been many a student I've thought, "That must be a freshman who just graduated high school, like me" only to discover they're in their mid-twenties or are a second or third-year stude
#10: Classes get cancelled and exams are actually kind of enjoyable
I rolled these two points into one because they go vaguely hand in hand. (Okay, really, the only shared theme they have is that both these points are related to short/nonexistent classes.) My favorite e-mail to get is the e-mail with the subject line, "Class is cancelled today." Glory, glory, hallelujah. Bless professors for just flat-out cancelling class. Gone are the days where you had to sit through a class with a sub because, in high school, it was not a wise idea to just let thirty teenagers wander for an hour. I also appreciate that you can just leave as soon as you're done with a test. The professor isn't here to baby-sit you after you've finished the assignment. You can just get up and leave once you've turned that test in. Really, I'm just a fan of having no class or a shortened class. Either is fine with me.
It's been a crazy busy eight weeks, but I think I can safely say that I have loved my college experience so far and can't wait to see what the next eight weeks bring.
