We all have our routines for getting up and starting the day. We establish them early, when we're under ten, then they change as we grow. One of the times in your life where routines will change the most is when you enter college. It's so much fun, exciting and beneficial to your future, but when you move to school, you have to make tiny sacrifices. One being your routine which I'm sure you'll say will never change but I promise you, everything changes when you get to the big school.
1. You used to get up at 8 a.m., now it's the crack of dawn.
If you play a sport or are on a competitive team, you won't know when your coach wants you to get up. In high school they aren't really 'allowed' to make you get up at five in the morning but in college they are very much allowed.
2. You used to have a concrete shower schedule.
Every girl and some guys that I know has a very exact shower schedule. It's either, "every other day and only at night," or, "every two days and only in the mornings." When you play a sport, you may have practice two times a day and individual workouts between those.
You may wear the same dirty clothes all day long and then shower at a random time. You may even take two showers a day! When you're sick, you'll want to stand under the shower because your dorm bed just doesn't bring you the same comfort that you bed at home did. Showers are a very weird thing to adjust to in college. Oh, and if you have high end hair treatments, sports will ruin them.
3. Cosmetics are touch and go.
Most girls that wore makeup everyday in high school will not be doing that in college. You won't feel like it, it'll break you out, and it's just a tedious process if you're still trying to keep up with the latest beauty trends. Also, those high end hair treatments like going to the salon every six weeks for highlights will become non-existent. You may want to substitute a root color and a lasting shampoo to get you through until the holidays.
4. You'll miss your dog.
My dog was part of my routine. Every morning I would wake up, let him out, feed him and his sisters, and then start the day. Now I don't have that. I also don't have the very large lump that snores laying at the end of my bed and dog hair no longer clings to my clothes. You'll miss your animal really bad. But you'll appreciate everyone else's dogs a lot more at your campus.
5. Cleaning will be even more important than before.
In your dorm, you're not only cleaning up your mess. You're also cleaning up remnants of all the residents from before. You'll find a piece of hair that is five years old sometimes in the back of your dorm closet. I know that it wasn't pertinent to clean vigorously at home, but it will be now. Make sure you set up a good deep clean day. Mine is Sunday.
6. Keeping in touch will be harder.
Trying to keep up with whether it's time to call your grandmother or your mom will be harder than every before. Sometimes time passes a lot more quickly and you lose track of when you called your grandparents to check on them. It could be a whole week! I really don't remember what I used my phone for at home anymore...you'll use it so much for calling everyone now.
7. You'll get more exercise but won't get smaller.
Especially if you go somewhere that doesn't allow freshmen to get parking passes, you'll walk more than ever before. However, since college means no sleep and little to no breakfast, your balance will be off and you may not get any smaller. This is okay though! I'm not saying you'll gain the 'Freshman 15' but don't expect to be a body builder without going to the gym and getting your daily nutrition needs.
8. You may forget how to drive.
I drove my sister's car after only a month of being away and it was a little weird. Walking everywhere is so slow that when you get in a car, it feels like you're speeding. This may not be the same for everyone, but it was definitely a weird feeling for me.
9. You won't keep the same hobbies.
I feel like I had so much free time at home. I could sketch, cook dinner, watch a movie. Now, it takes me three years to get through one season of Gossip Girl on Netflix. You'll have free time at school, don't get me wrong, but you'll find it much more responsible to study some before you do anything fun when you get to college.
10. You will absolutely adapt.
Some of these things may sound terrible but they're really not. You'll figure out that you need to call your mom every day and your grandmother every three days. You'll learn how to drive again within the first five minutes, exercise will get easier, cleaning will become simple, visiting your dog will become more frequent, and your shower schedule will be unimportant.
Change is a part of life and we, as humans, adapt to almost anything with ease. The main thing that changes from person to person is your sleep schedule and even that will become irrelevant.
Don't stress about college because it is a wonderful time. You'll make tons of new friends, make lots of future plans and even change your outlook on the world. It's a time of changes and new beginnings. Your routine changing is not the end of the world. You'll adapt with ease and you might not ever look back!
