For most people, it's a freshman year experience: you begin your time at Carolina with the longest walk to class, but the closest shot to the Dean Dome. The grungiest dorms, but also the newest. The most people sharing one toilet, but also the bathroom closest to your bedroom. Needless to say, there are plenty of pros and cons. One major pro to our time on South Campus is the knowledge that we all share some struggles and blessings.

1. The long trek.

If you're coming from HoJo, that first hill in the morning can have you already feeling like this. If you're coming from Hardin, Morrison or Avery, you'll start to realize that even as the closest people to campus, you average a minimum of three miles a day - and when you get back every night, you look a little something like this.

2. Easy access to Kenan and the Dean Dome.

It's so nice to have a later wake up than our North Campus counterparts on those mornings when they've got free t-shirts for the first 500 fans.

3. The inferior dining hall.

While Rams (NOT Chase) certainly has its moments, there's no waffle bar, no burrito bar and really no standards when it comes to the South Campus dining hall. The food might not be quite as bad as what this poor baby makes it out to be, but it's almost always a bit of a disappointment. The few options for dining outside the dining hall (aka actually just Subway) are also a bit of a problem.

4. The parking.

*Disclaimer: I am sorry for the RR lot people living on South* This is really a double-edged sword: on the one hand, there is significantly more parking availability on South Campus than on North Campus. On the other hand, there are significantly more events for which we are required to move our cars, and subsequently a significantly higher chance of being ticketed. Hence the fight to the death for a spot.

5. The walk of shame.

No, no, not that one (though I guess that one is longer, too). I mean the Walk of Shame from Davis or the UL back to the dorm at 2 a.m. It's much further, much colder, and much more upsetting to walk almost a mile for a reunion with your bed after a night of studying.

6. Through rain, through sleet, through snow, through hail...

It doesn't matter how much precipitation there is or how big the puddles are, we're headed to class just like the North Campus residents. That means a long trek THROUGH THE RAIN, and that can be a nightmare in itself. For example, last year I dashed across a crosswalk in a thunderstorm while headed back to HoJo, ran right out of my rainboot, and ate it in a puddle right in front of oncoming traffic. Be careful out there, people.

7. Easy access to Starbucks.

This is a serious pro to South Campus. Even as a non-coffee-drinker, I love that it's easy to access such a nice smelling study spot, and it's nice to sit in a coffee shop (albeit a chain) right here on campus every once in a while.

8. The distinctly freshman vibe.

Once you're a sophomore living on South Campus (outside of Morrison, Hardin or Avery) things start to get a little bit awkward. You aren't a freshman, and you don't want to encroach on that community the freshmen are building. Perpetual youth and wanting to relive that magical freshman experience have you feeling a bit like Joey, though.

9. Early alarm clocks.

I know, I know, we've already complained about the long walk. But there's a hidden side effect: an early alarm. If you're walking 15 or 20 minutes to get to your first class, you have to get up 15 or 20 minutes earlier, and it has you feeling exactly like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

10. The friends.

Living on South Campus together is really a bond that can never be broken, and you know that. It's the purest form of friendship, having so many shared experiences your first (and, lots of the time, second) year of college.

UNC-Chapel Hill South Campus, we are so grateful for you. We hate you, we love you, we love to hate you, we hate to love you. And without you, we wouldn't be half the people we are today. So thanks, for being the best... and the worst...