Whether you have been in college for less than a year, or you are on your last leg of this four-year journey, we can all agree that we are different people than from what we were back on the move in a day freshman year. Some of us have changed for the better and some of us for the worst.... But, it is definitely a journey and we have all evolved from little freshmen to jaded students who now think we know everything there is to know about our school and our lives on this campus, but let's just take a look at the evolution we have all made...
The Optimistic Freshman Era.
You're finally free! You came into college feeling bright-eyed and bushy tailed. You never have to listen to your parents again and you don't have to worry about that awful "where are you?" text at 1 a.m. anymore. You meet your roommate and immediately think that you guys are going to be best friends forever. You made so many friends on the first night, and you can't wait to keep being friends with them for the next four years. You think that wearing your lanyard around your neck is cool. You are free to be the optimistic 18 year old we all wish we could be again. Oh you poor innocent soul.
The Alcoholic Age
The beginning of college is full of parties and with parties comes a lot of alcohol. Because you are a freshman and you are free to live how you want, we for some reason believed that we were invincible. This means going out as many nights a week as possible and not caring about the repercussions. As freshmen, we all had our bad nights, some of us had more than others. If only my liver could be a freshman again...
The Homesickness Era
This era usually occurs during one of many rough patches. A lot of us still suffer from this all the time, even some of the most experienced college students. During this time all we want is a home cooked meal and to sleep in our own bed at home. This is a period in our evolution that we can overcome, even though it will always be with us throughout time.
The "Oh Sh*t, What Have I Been Doing With My Life" Times.
After a few months living the carefree life, you finally start to catch up on your work. Those first few months of college are the honeymoon period, when you are in an utter state of pure bliss. However, the jading process for a college student begins a lot quicker than we could have ever thought.
The No Priorities Period.
We also reach the point where we get a little too comfortable in our flow of college life after our rude awakening that we begin to slip into a rut, and with a rut comes low motivation and the peak of our procrastination. A lot of us continue to be in this evolutionary state while simultaneously being in another one because this is just part of our personality.
The "I'm better than you" Era.
This is the era that we stay in the longest, and most likely until graduation. Once you get out of freshman year you slip into this state of mind. You have found your friends and you are all ready to take over. You know the best places to eat, to party and everything else. As a sophomore, you believe that you are better than the freshman. As a junior you believe that you are better than the sophomores and juniors. And as a senior, well, you believe that you're better than everybody. We all have to work our way up to the top of the heap, and we will all get there eventually. But no matter how old and jaded we may all get, we all secretly wish we could go back to move in day and start it all over again.