It seems like just yesterday, we had officially graduated from high school, said our goodbyes to our childhood friends, and packed our things to head off to a brand new place, college. Then you blinked and time quickly passed. Four years later, and you're here with only two semesters between you and graduation. Here's signs that four years in the same town might have been just enough time.
You know who you are.
They say college is the time to find ourselves. Nothing could be more true. The amount of maturing that occurs in just four quick years is mind-blowing and slightly scary. By this point, you've been through breakups, tricky situations that caused you to make important decisions, and you've depended completely on yourself for years. You know who you like and what you like. That deserves a drink!
You have your own opinions.
You've lived away from home long enough to be able to make your own decisions for yourself. Your parents don't have in say in the things you believe in anymore. A college campus is such a diverse place, filled with different ethnicities and beliefs. After four years, you've found the group that you believe in most.
You know the town.
By now, there aren't really any streets you haven't been down. You could give anyone directions. You know the novelty places in town to catch dinner when your parents come to visit. You know all the back roads to avoid all of the streets with the worst traffic. Maybe the local coffee shop even knows your "regular."
Your bank account consists of only drinks from the bar.
Forget parties, you go to bars now. Parties are lame, bars are not (my life motto)! By now, you have a couple favorite bars around town, and you definitely have a drink of choice. You begin questioning how you ever drank Natties.
You know the campus.
The first day of class is hilarious as you sit back and watch all the freshman scramble to their classes, some even have maps. Those were the days. On your first day of class you probably didn't even look at the location of your classes until 5 minutes before classes. This also means that since you know where everything is, there is no need to leave for class early.
You know how to get the classes you want.
That means no Friday classes. 8 a.m. classes? Absolutely not. Senior year means first pick of classes, and that's a beautiful thing.
You find yourself doing adult things.
This is surprising, right? You never thought you'd see the day when you were cooking dinner for yourself, changing the oil in your car, and caring about building your credit.
You have made lifelong friends.
By now, there is nothing disgusting you can do that will gross your friends out anymore. These friends have been here since your dorm days together, through the drunken nights, and those long nights of studying. You know these are the people that will be in your wedding.
You have so many memories.
College was the time of your life, so after four years there are plenty, embarrassing ones included, to go around. Sometimes, like an old person, you find yourself chatting with your friends about old memories. This sentence is heard maybe once a day, "Hey, remember that time when..."
You are focused on the future.
Instead of spending your evening doing online math homework, you spend it looking for internships. It's that time to actually go to the career fairs on campus and seriously look at your resume. You wonder where you'll be in a year. It could even be a different state. You know a new start is coming and it's just the beginning of everything.
