College is a lot of things, fun, educational, expensive. Really expensive. I was prepared for how expensive college is; I worked over the summer and had around $500 when I started school. That was an insane amount of money for me. I mean how could I even spend that much? So come the end of my first college semester, I had gained so much knowledge, made so many friends, and I still had a whole month left. One day, I was hungry and wanted better than whatever the dining hall had to offer, so I thought I would treat myself to some food. I picked out what I wanted, and handed my card to the cashier. She handed it back and said, "Your card has been rejected". "Surely there must be some mistake," I thought. I ran back into my room, went on my laptop and checked my bank statement. I had 75 cents in my bank account, not even a single dollar. "How could this happen?!," I thought while sitting on my throne of empty Amazon boxes. So maybe my online shopping habit is a problem, but I was too broke to worry about that. So I was faced with one month left of college and a whopping 75 cents in my bank account; one thought ran through my head, "I'm fucked." But hey, I'm still here and I became a writer for the Odyssey (quite a feat) so things turned out okay. So I'm here to share some advice in case you run into a similar problem.
Tip 1: Ramen Noodles:
My college sells cups of Ramen Noodles for only 80 cents. Which is still too expensive and will break the bank. Whoever thought some Maruchan ramen would be a luxury? So my advice is to just take some from your friends. I mean hey they're only 80 cents; your friends won't mind.
Tip 2: TupperWare:
Luckily my mother sent me up to school with a couple of these bad boys, and yes I know that's as cool as it sounds, but during a time of crisis I'm not worried about being cool, I'm worried about survival. During the day, I would go to the dining halls with a backpack full of tupperware. I would grab my food, check my surroundings, then stealthily slide my food into the tupperware. Now during late night study sessions, I wouldn't have to order food, I could just go into my fridge and grab me some leftovers.
Tip 3: Take everything, and I mean everything:
This is a time of crisis. Being a civil human being goes out the window. Let's say you need some tissues/napkins: go to the bathroom and steal the paper towel dispenser. Hey, they will eventually replace it. Does your dorm have a vending machine? That's one small chair throw from eating like a king. After a weekend with your friends, pick up all the beer cans and pour whatever remainder there is into a water bottle, and bam, you have drinks for the next weekend.
College is expensive and with having less than a dollar to your name, it can be difficult. Ordering food is too easy, Amazon prime gets here too quickly, and having to pay $5 to get into a party is down right un-American. But hey, with my sound advice, your last month of college can feel like your first month of college, without all the self doubt and fear of not fitting in. Just more ramen!
