Let me start off by saying that the student-athlete struggle is so real. And if you are one, then these will come as no surprise to you.

1. You never have hair ties.

Don't jump on me for favoring females or any other author bias; this is a #ManBunNation now, after all. With that disclaimer, I bring us to hair ties, headbands, and scrunchies (if you're super inefficient or just don't give a damn). You've spent more of your precious money than you care to admit on hair-holding devices, and have maybe three survivors scattered on the floor of your room to show for that investment.

2. Same for socks.

You're lucky if they're the same color, let alone actually the same brand, but the real accomplishment is if you actually manage to have two halves of the same original pair. Of course, then your teammates automatically assume you very recently bought new socks. We give it two laundry days, tops, before that blue striped Adidas makes an appearance next to a neon green Asics at lift.

3. Ice bathing.

Literally what hell feels like; surprise, ruffians and thugs, hell is ICY-HOT and feels like pins and needles. Thousands of them.

"Torture. Evil Incarnate." - Ethan Warrick, Dickinson College Football

"Requires a willingness to put yourself in titanic-level cold water until you go numb and relax your muscles, but without the sweet release of death." - Marissa Marth, George Mason University Rowing

4. Loud breathing. Mouth breathing, to be exact.

We all hate it, but when your two-hour practice ends 15 minutes before your bio exam on the opposite side of campus from your training venue, you're forced to accept that some things just can't be helped. Sorry, loud gum chewer, you got yours.

5. Study hell.

That's not a typo, I meant what I said. The athletic Academic Advisors assign a set number of hours per week, and based on a student's GPA, it can be anywhere from zero to eight. Taking into account that a college student doesn’t have a GPA 'til the end of their first year, one might assume we don’t have to do any hours! Cool, right?

No, we have to do all of them. Eight. It’s even worse to have to sit all that time in a double-wide trailer with no A/C all through spring season. It’s even worse than that when you can’t find an individual room, so you’re stuck in the common area, and there's just the perfect amount of people for no one to know each other but for the whole room to feel awkward about every. Single. Sound. Made it through another page of your textbook? We all know. Craving that Nature Valley Bar? Please resist, we beg of you.

6. FOOD.

On season, you have to watch what you eat. You have to fuel up enough to perform well but stay away from anything that might negatively affect your performance.

(I must tearfully depart from my four-cheese bacon mac. I’ll see you post-season, my love.)

7. Coaches.

They're fickle creatures, really. They can be absolute hard a**es one day, and the next, they can be the funniest, nerdiest jocks, and you don’t know what you’d do without them either way. Bonus points if your coach is punny. Mine’s the punniest. And she once used "lit" as intended in the common vernacular.

8. FOOD.

Post-season is spent making up for lost culinary opportunities, starting with the aforementioned bacon mac. And baking things with lots of butter. And coordinating my move into that vintage candy shop in Tysons (Lolli & Pops, highly recommended).

The photo below probably contains half a pound of butter.

9. Free vacation.

Spring training trips—nothing beats 'em. The team does a lot of bonding for the season to come, and at the same time is on a general endorphin and ego high from all the hard workouts and consequent improvement.

10. GEAR!

The day you get your gear at the beginning of the season is a magical time. It’s like having Christmas twice. Sneakers, backpacks, all the sweats, quarter zips, half zips, hats, and more spandex than most people need in a lifetime.

So tell me in the comments below which of these traits of a student-athlete are your favorite!