outro to freshman year
Hey old pals, long time no talk! I know it's been awhile since my last post and I'm sorry to those few loyal souls who still check up on this blog; you guys rock. I had been finishing up my semester and I had so much going on that I had to put this blog on the back-burner for my GPA's sake. With that being said, I'm back and lazier than ever. Summer is here, none of my boxes have been unpacked, and I ate an entire medium pizza by myself last night. I have time to write again. Life is good.
To put things into perspective, I partied my first night back up in San Marcos. *queue up that snarky comment I always hear about Texas State being a party school* (Side note: is this really something to be ashamed of? That I got a 4.0 and I'm still having more fun than you? Oh golly gee man gotta hate those party schools they're the worst huh?)
Then, the night after the first day of class, I found myself in a tattoo parlor with two of my gal pals because what better way to celebrate another semester of all-nighters than with spontaneous nose piercings?? (According to my mother, there were apparently better options than this).
I lived a bit more this semester. I got out more. I took more Ls. And, even after all of the social tragedies, I'd still do it all over again.
Alright, so here's my comeback post. A list of things I learned during my freshman year of college. (P.S. this is a long post and I'm not the least bit sorry)
1. 8 AM is the new 6 AM.
Every freshman's mentality when they're signing up for classes is "I am used to waking up at like 6 AM for high school, so I can handle an 8 AM easy." False. You can not. You will wake up every morning and immediately regret your decision. You will also be so inattentive the few times you actually show up that you'll end up watching Sons of Anarchy in the back row of the auditorium...not that I know from personal experience or anything...
2. Makeup is overrated.
When I was in high school, not wearing makeup to school would have seemed "risky". Now, wearing makeup to class seems "risky" because I plan on taking a 30-minute nap between classes and I know I'll just smudge it or get it on my pillow. P.S. there is also never a "wrong" time to take a nap; I literally took naps at 10 AM, 3 PM, 8 PM, and 3 AM. You sleep when you dang well want to.
3. People don't magically grow up when you give them a diploma.
Who woulda thought, right? Ha, no I still met plenty of disrespectful and immature people. I'm talking about you, boy in the Kappa Alpha shirt that blatantly made fun of the dining hall worker and then proceeded to just leave your two and a half untouched cheeseburgers on the table because dang who would have thought you're not actually the big ole macho man you thought you were, huh? But forreal, suckiness has no age limit. You'll meet plenty of awful people. (word of advice: people aren't always going to be hitting you up because they want to take you on a date, ya know what i'm sayin'?)
4. It's nothing like high school.
This is going to sound really harsh, but it's true; no one cares about you. You could not show up to a single class and your professor would fail you without a second thought. There's no such thing as a "grace day". You can sit in a classroom with people for an entire semester and not talk to anyone once and you could also talk to somebody every day in that class and never actually learn their name. It's weird. On the bright side, what you learn in your classes is actually interesting for the most part. The professors are fantastic and have no filters. They'll straight up tell you to shut the f*** up or sit the f*** down if they want (RIP the dude that tried to leave in the middle of Professor Henderson's lecture. You tried, bud. You tried.)
5. If you don't find a way to socialize you're going to be miserable
Join a club. Talk to your neighbors. Maybe even talk to that cute guy sitting next to you in your spanish class (or decide not to when he comes to class high haha oops). No matter how freakin' hard it is to put yourself out there, you have no choice or you will get yourself in deep emotional poo. Please trust me on this. If you take nothing from this post, just take this. Thank me later. (or don't)
6. People love to hate college more than they actually hate it.
Come onnnn, I do it too. All over twitter people complain about how they are absolutely miserable in college. Yes, it's the literal worst but there's also nowhere else I'd rather be. That makes no sense, but it doesn't have to. Accept it.
7. Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.
The meal you eat before a night of drinking is the most important meal of the day.
8. I do not have time for people who are not really my friends.
You have so much on your plate when you're juggling school and this new wave of personal responsibilities (like making sure to actually eat food and shower every once in awhile) that unauthentic people stick out like a sore thumb in your life. One of those personal responsibilities is choosing who you surround yourself with, so don't be afraid to cut off toxic people. It's okay to grow out of people. (refer to my giving up + giving in post for more on this)
9. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
FACTS. I hit so many lows and took so many Ls that in all honesty there were a couple times where I sat in my dorm and looked at myself in the mirror and questioned my existence because I had experienced so much suck in such a small period of time. Most of those Ls I can't exactly talk about on this blog because you know -PRIVACY- and -ADULT FIGURES-, but if you ever wanna hear some tales of woe, hit me up. However, I simultaneously had some of the best nights of my life in college. I will never forget those 3 AM ihop runs that lasted until sunrise and that time my roommate and I passed out in Fuego with our hands still in a bowl of queso after a night of drink-ahem-I mean studying. Lots of studying. You know that stupid, overused line that goes, "here's to the nights that turned into mornings with the friends that turned into family"? God that's so cheesy, but it's so true, man. I had so many bittersweet moments where I would look around me and at my friends and realize how much I was going to miss the moment I was still living. I tell ya, life without a chaperone can be absolutely incredible.
10. Study smart. Party smarter.
Don't party alone. Don't leave your friends. Get the find your friends app and use it. Get a new drink if you leave yours unattended. No matter how charming that person seems, don't let them get you a drink; you're a strong independent woman/man who can get their own. The punch most likely has Everclear in it. It's not about mixing beer and liquor, it's about how much you consume or how fast. Don't let your friends drive drunk; get an uber, for god's sake walk home for all I care. Have a plan for if the party gets busted by the cops. Eat before you drink. Eat while you drink. Drink water while you drink. Keep a water bottle by your bed because you'll get dehydrated while you sleep. Eat when you wake up, I promise it'll make you feel better even though you won't want to. Don't text your ex. Actually, don't text anyone.
Sorry to include this on my list of things I learned, but it's better to inform than to act like people aren't going to drink in college. Just keepin' it real. Safety is key.
Not that I drink or party or anything...just an...educated guess, ya know? ha ha, let's move on.
11. Dorm fever is a thing.
Get out. Netflix can (sometimes) wait.
12. I missed my water pressure more than i missed my family.
Hell in two words: community showers. *shudders* P.S. community bathrooms taught me so much: like it's common curtesy to leave the bathroom if someone else is trying to take care of business, people really like to listen to christian music when they shower, and some girls think it's totally okay to do their makeup completely naked in front of the mirror. There are at least three examples of girls that I know what their boobs look like but I don't know their name.
13. Go to class (usually).
Just because attendance isn't mandatory doesn't mean you never have to go. You'll most likely not do well. (ex. my adolescent lit class wasn't mandatory but he gave so many pop quizzes so that if you missed consistently then you failed the class), but also don't be afraid to take a mental health day...or two...or five...
14. HAVE FUN.
Don't stay in every night and every weekend to study. You're only hurting yourself.
15. Sunglasses and baseball caps are a lifesaver.
Have I not washed my hair in 4 days? Am I hungover? Ugly? Avoiding eye contact with people? All of the above? You'll never know.
16. Set ground rules with your roommate.
I was lucky to have known the girl I was rooming with since sixth grade, but that didn't mean we didn't have rules. Don't use the overhead lights if one of us is sleeping. Don't touch my stuff. Don't let the door slam if one of us is sleeping. Don't forget to turn off the coffeemaker. Always check before you let someone sleepover. The list was endless yet so necessary. Because we set these expectations, we managed to live in a tiny square room and not have a single fight. Yeah, idk how either.
17. The freshman fifteen isn't inevitable.
"All you can eat pizza bar? A bottomless bucket of chocolate chip cookies by the dining hall door? Panda Express counts as a meal swipe? Hell yeah! Wait. What? It's actually making me gain weight? I am shocked and confused." Ha, yeah. The earlier you set up healthy habits, the better. Those are hard to break, but not as hard as it is to lose the weight you gain. P.S. I pulled myself together and I am a proud owner of the same size pair of jeans I started with and not the freshman fifteen.
18. It's not about how long you study, it's about how well you study.
BREAKING NEWS: you don't have to spend every night in the library slaving over your work. The key is to just not procrastinate (yes i know, easier said than done, but that's the key I swear). When you study, focus at least 90% of the time and you'll cut your study time in half. Trust me, I did well in my classes because I was just completely mentally present when I studied. Except that one time I didn't read half of my books for my Adolescent Literature class and ended up having to read 6 books in one week...what is sleep again? I can't tell you how many nights I was crawling into bed while hearing birds chirping and people's alarms going off for the next morning.
19. Use RateMyProfessor.
It's accurate. My political science professor had awful ratings but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I should not have. A bad professor = either A) bad grade in the class B) a real struggle to do well.
20. It goes by so fast.
The day I moved out felt like it was a month after I moved in. Take the time to soak in the atmosphere around you every chance you get because before you know it you'll be turning in your dorm keys and loading your mini fridge into the back of the car. I'm back at home and it honestly just crushes me that my friends aren't within walking distance and I can't just get in my car and drive to whataburger at 3AM without a full on investigation from my parents.
It's been a week since I've come home and I'm already hyped for another year back up in San Marcos. Bring on the late nights and the bad decisions and all the extraordinary independence that comes with being an ameatur adult. Stay tuned for another list next year and I'll be seein' ya real soon, Texas State.
