Senior year!
I remember excitedly shouting these words as I moved back into my sorority house this past August. Senior year meant the end was in sight. Graduation, adult life and smooth sailing. I had plans for easier classes and a relaxed year after the hot mess that is anyone's junior year. But there's more to senior year than easy A's and graduation caps. Here's the things I wish I would have expected:
1. You'll be too old for a lot of college things.
Suddenly, you're the old person of the group. Pulling all-nighters? Yeah, I'll actually just wake up early and study. The party doesn't start until midnight? Isn't that a little late to just be heading out? Half the time you just stay home. Seriously. Who has the energy for that?
2. You'll still be too young for a lot of adult things.
As a soon-to-be graduate, you assume that you'll wake up one day with at least a vague understanding of taxes, 401Ks and the stock market. Don't be fooled. These things will make as much sense to you now as they did when you were graduating high school. The world of real adults sounds scary and confusing, and I'm only pretending I'm an adult.
3. The freshman will seem younger and more incomprehensible than ever.
When did freshmen get so young? They were born in what year? What does "Gucci" mean?
All actual questions I've had to ask myself this year. And for God's sake, why do they all dress nice, all the time?! These kids clearly haven't discovered the magic of T-shirts and sweats.
4. You will cry over the dumbest things.
Sure, you might cry over relevant stuff, like picking up your cap and gown. It's an exciting and surreal moment. But you'll also cry over the absolute dumbest things. Like scheduling classes for the last time. Why are you sad about this? No clue, but let me cry this one out.
5. You will live in a near-constant state of confusion.
People will ask you about your post-graduation plans almost daily. People you don't even know will want to know what you're doing with the rest of your entire life. While I appreciate all the interest and speculation, I would also love to know what I'm doing after I graduate. Believe me, guys, the suspense is killing me too.
6. You will be so over school.
You'd think because the end is in sight, you'll be able to power through. But senior year makes missing class and staying in bed, or just dropping out, all the more tempting. Suddenly, you're doing intricate calculations on just how well you need to do in each class to graduate. You'll lose a lot of motivation, and your "fun" classes, I promise, are still college classes, and will not actually be easy.
7. Senior Seminar
You think you're ready for it. You think you've been preparing for it for years now. You've learned how to budget time and write effectively. But when your senior seminar finally rolls around, you will, inevitably, cry some more. You research more and sleep less than you ever have in your college career. Make sure you buy a lot of coffee.
8. You will be so ready to leave right now.
Oh my God, get me out. You will be done with the same dining hall food, the same classrooms, the same walk to class and the same people. Suddenly, everything starts getting real old, real fast. You've been living in the same place, seeing the same people, doing the same stuff for four years now, and, frankly, you'll get more than a little tired of it.
9. You will not be ready to leave at all.
At some point, your countdown calendar (yes, you will have one) will be in the teens. Around this time, you'll realize how fast college went by. You'll wish for more chances to do dumb college stuff, more class days learning about things you care about and more time living in the same place as all the friends you love so much. Leaving won't be nearly as easy as it sounds.
