If you are a Senior Citizen (and happen to have an aptly named photo album on Facebook) of your current University, this semester is probably feeling a little rough. Whether or not you’re taking a light or heavy load, just the notion that you are oh-so-close-but-yet-so-far-away from graduating and starting your life is terrifying yet invigorating at the same exact time. So you still sorta have to care so that you can keep your grades up for grad school, or those job apps that for some strange reason want your transcript before you can fully celebrate being a second semester senior and completely slack off. Either that or I’m the only person feelin’ these 12 things.
1. You’ve been to every job fair, ever
The rat race is on! Some lucky souls out there already had their post grad job lined up with a fortune five hundred company since last summer. Can we just grab our torches and pitchforks and form an angry mob against them? Just kidding, that would be mean. Instead, we form a mob, grab a whole ink-cartridge's-worth stack of resumes and our best business casual attire and head to the job fairs on campus. Or off campus, too, if you are really pounding the pavement! So, we file in and talk ourselves up while the person standing next to you is secretly hoping you'll choke, or wanting to literally slit your throat, so that they can get the job or internship that you want. Or maybe this is all just a Berkeley specific problem?
2. Your caffine tolerance is too high
Red Bull, Monster, black coffee with an extra shot of espresso, soy sugar-free triple-tall no-foam hazelnut lattes: whatever your poison is, you find yourself needing more of it to get through that lecture, paper or assignment. Let’s not even talk about the heinous amount of caffeine you need to pull an all-nighter these days, if you're even capable of doing so anymore. Not to mention the dent this is making in your bank account. And let’s not even talk about your alcohol tolerance since turning 21.
3. You literally can’t do frats anymore
So, every time I’ve walked into a frat this semester, I find my self wondering “Who are all these people even? Are they in high school? Do they even go here?” Yes, they do! They are freshman and sophomores who are full of vigor and have not yet grown sick and tired (literally) of drinking out of plastic handles and wine bags. There aren’t even any eligible prospects because everyone you knew has either graduated, you’ve already hooked up with them, or you have absolutely no desire to hook up with them. So instead you go to bars and tell yourself you’ll find a fine young bachelor/bachelorette who is, like, a founder, or a CEO with a funded startup, or some kind of doctor who saves children. But you won’t. Stop kidding yourself. You’ll black out on well-drinks and end up in bed with someone who went out looking for the same thing. Or you'll end up alone with Chipotle.
4. Staying in and drinking is a thing now
Since when were you completely content with staying in? Since now! Sometimes you just don’t have it in you to put on that super sexy body-con and go to the clubs, or even put on pants. Besides, the cheapest alcohol just doesn’t cut it anymore, and as I’ve mentioned before you just can’t even with frats. So there’s no more free alcohol, and cocktails are expensive. Why pay ten dollars for one drink when you can pay ten dollars for a whole bottle and not have to wear clothes? And you can watch Netflix and chill in bed?
5. You’ve considered this
Um…what? Just kidding.
6. But actually, you have to start getting your life together
7. Bye bye, mad money
So, you’re about to start your life, and you also start thinking about saving money. Because how else are you going to afford rent, cars, bills, rent, investing in good business clothes, rent, did I say rent? Did I mention I’m terrified? The rent in San Francisco is too darn high!
8. You can’t tell the difference between high schoolers and college underclassmen anymore
Because, I mean, how are they so tiny? Like, some of them actually look like children, and some of them look like they could be your age. It’s so misleading! Am I just turning into a cougar? Is this more of a personal problem? Moving on...
9. You’ve considered actually selling your soul for the job you want
Apple, Google, Salesforce, J.P Morgan — whatever it is, you want it and you want it bad! You’ve stalked everyone from the department you’re looking to work in, and everyone from HR on Linked In. You know everything about the company backwards and forwards, and can recite your interview talking points, jam-packed with buzzwords, on cue. All you have to do is hear someone utter the word “hiring” and suddenly you’re on about how you're a “natural born leader” and a “self-starter” with “top-notch data analysis skills.” Okay, just stop, you’re making a fool of yourself.
10. The job hunt is so terrifying, you’ve started thinking about entrepreneurship
First you thought of opening a cupcake shop, but then you realized the cupcake craze is so 2011. Then you thought of opening a coffee shop, because that’s easy right? And you can totally compete with Starbucks. Then you started to dream big: a luxury t-shirt line for toddlers, a brand of superfood-flavored vodka, Uber for Private Jets, Tinder for dogs? The sky is the limit, and you are going to be the next best thing. Just maybe try and get a patent first, okay?
11. What is love?
If you are in a long-term, committed relationship, you can just skip this one and continue on being happy and gross and coupley. We’re getting to a stage when we are seeing our older friends, relatives, or even worse, younger people than we went to high school with settling down and getting married. And meanwhile, you’re, like, pizza is bae. #ForeverAlone
12. Going to class is “optional”
Regardless of whether attendance is actually mandatory or not, or if the lecture slides are not posted online, you kind of just can’t get yourself to go. Maybe you’ll go leading up to the midterm, but that's about it. Just show up to office hours and get a good grade on your assignments, and you’re pretty much set. Remember the good old days when you were terrified of failing and missing class? Haha...those were the days.
But, we should really just stop complaining and enjoy the rest of our time in college!