1. You WILL be late to class at some point
GiphyI was so sure that I would always be on time to class, even if that meant waking up a little earlier but no, I wasn't prepared for the unexpected and mysterious Thursday morning traffic. I genuinely don't know why but my usual one hour commute becomes almost three hours on Thursday morning. FYI: I missed my 10 am discussion a total of 4 times that quarter.
2. You have to reach out to friends and make plans
GiphyCommuting can be tiring. My first quarter of commuting, I just felt so drained that I didn't feel like hanging out with anyone and to make things worse, I had this fear of just bothering people to hang out with me (yeah it's dumb I know). I had to get over that and reach out plus I had some pretty amazing friends who reached out first and I'm so grateful for them. There's just no way you will keep connected with friends unless you reach out and make plans.
3. Your schedule will be a problem sometimes
GiphyGetting a job or even hanging out with friends is just a little harder because of your schedule. It's not only when you have a class or are on campus that you have to think about but also how long it'll take you to actually get there. But with a little patience and organization, it'll work out.
4. The friends who make the time to hang out with you, are the real ones
GiphyI am so happy and grateful for the amazing friendships that I have in my life right now. Genuinely it makes me so grateful to have people who are willing to go out of their way or deal with my hectic schedule to hang out. Ya'll are the real ones!!
5. Some days you'll really dread the commute and that's ok
GiphyThere have been days (shoutout to midterm and finals season), where everything just piles up and I really wonder if this was the best option. I mean is class really that important when I can just go back to sleep?
6. Most of your money will go to food
GiphyI haven't mastered the art of meal prep and $12 meals on campus really add up after a while so budgeting is my best friend.
7. Sometimes you won't dress according to the weather and you'll hate it but you'll survive
GiphyUsually, I leave my house to come to campus early in the morning and the thing is, in the morning it's real cold. So there's just been times where I'm wearing a snow jacket in the morning and the sun will literally be burning at 100 degrees once I get on campus. These aren't my finest moments. I need to learn to layer.
8. Sometimes you'll feel like you aren't getting the full college experience
GiphyI've got to be honest, sometimes I'll see people with their roommates hanging out or going out together or I'll see people at club meetings and I'll feel a little left out from that experience, and that's ok. When that happens I remember the amazing community and friends I have on campus and just in my life. My college experience is different but I wouldn't want it any other way.
11 Things To Do On Those Easygoing Fall Weekends We All Love
Let's be real, sitting in your dorm room or going out and partying all the time gets pretty old.
When boredom hits, it hits hard. I know I'm not the only one who dreads just sitting in my dorm room with my friends, and sometimes we need a change of scenery from our usual hang-out spots. I compiled the perfect list of fall dates for you and your friends or significant others.
Go Apple or Pumpkin Picking
It's one of my favorite things to do. The experience of the crisp fall air and the beauty of the apple orchards or pumpkin patches is unlike any other.
Plus, you can usually do this for a relatively cheap price. Bonus points if you go to a local farm. Support your small businesses!
Have a Fall Photoshoot
Another one of my favorite things about fall is the fashion. I'm a sucker for sweaters, leggings and my favorite Doc Martens. Your iPhone works great, or a polaroid camera goes perfectly with the season!
Drive to your local pumpkin patch, farm or just walk around your area. There are so many cool places to take pictures.
Pumpkin Painting
This is a great solution if you live in a dorm or apartment building and don't want or can't have an actual rotting, live pumpkin out for the entire month of October. Jack-o-lanterns are fun, but you can always buy the Styrofoam ones from Michael's and paint them. Have a contest with your friends or turn on your favorite Halloween-themed movie and go nuts.
Scary Movie Drive-In
This can still work if you don't have a drive-in theater near you. I was lucky enough to grow up 30 minutes away from an actual drive-in, where I could go hang out with my friends. But there's nothing wrong with building a fort in your living room or just hanging out in bed under the covers. The important thing here is the scary movies.
Go Out for Brunch or Bagels
If "Sex and the City" has taught us anything, it's that you can never go wrong with brunch with your friends. Bypass the mimosas and go for apple cider. Or if you're over 21, drink as many mimosas as you please.
Either way, I know I love bacon, egg and cheese bagels. And I will never say no to lazy Sundays with bagels and my friends.
Bowling
I always forget how much fun this is until I'm invited to do it for a group-bonding activity. Cosmic bowling takes me back to my middle school days, but I still find singing to classics with my friends and laughing at my subpar bowling skills fun. Don't @ me.
Bake Halloween Cookies
My grandma makes those Pillsbury sugar cookies with the cartoons on them for every single season. As the years go by and they add more graphics, she still doesn't get tired of buying them and baking them for us and the kids she teaches at her Sunday school classes.
Do it for grandma. Bake the cookies.
Go Thrift Shopping
This can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. I have a fear of trying things on in thrift stores, but I love buying XXL shirts from the adult-men section and making them into crop tops — then washing them three times before I consider them wearable.
It's fashion. Or laziness. Either way, now I have an outfit to go pumpkin picking in or to wear at my fall photoshoot.
Paint and Sip
I, like many of my friends, am underage. My mom has gone to those wine-and-paint parties, and they look super fun. I'm deciding to take it up a notch and do a cider-and-paint party.
Most towns have these studios, or you can invite your friends over and throw one yourself. They're super fun, and you get art to take home afterward!
Go on a Coffee Tour
Or a hot chocolate tour. I'm a big coffeehouse person, and I'm always looking for an excuse to drink as much coffee as I can in a 24-hour period. It keeps you inside, and the aesthetic of coffee houses is very pleasing.
Decorate Your Dorm or Home
You don't have to spend money on this! You can draw some pumpkins on computer paper, cut them out and tape them up. Or you can be extra like my roommates, buy a light box and put "It's freakin bats… I love Halloween" on it. You can buy skeleton decorations for your TV. It's up to you.