College is an amazing experience. But it’s also a lot of work, as in, when you look at your syllabi at the beginning of the semester, you’re 100 percent sure you won’t be able to get it all done. And when you look back at the end of the semester, when every project is completed, every paper is turned in and every test is taken, you’re amazed at the time management skills you didn’t know you had. Here are some basic thoughts that every college student can relate to.
1. You want to get up early on Saturdays so you can take full advantage of your free day, but sleeping in is also the best thing to ever happen to you.
2. You need to have written about five papers by the end of the semester, which means near panic when you realize how many pages that means.
3. You know you should exercise, and you want to exercise…but convincing yourself to go for that run is a workout in and of itself.
4. You have some weeks that the schedule fairy decided to be especially generous and others when it apparently hates your guts.
5. You really like listening to music while you do work, but you have to give it up because you realize you’re not actually doing work. You’re just listening to music.
6. Facebook is your enemy. Pinterest is your enemy. Your email is your enemy. Anything that is not that book you really need to be reading is your enemy.
7. You have some professors who are absolutely hilarious. You look forward to their classes because you know you’ll end up in stitches.
8. You hold off on washing your laundry for as long as you possibly can. Because competing with 100 other girls for two washers and dryers is no one’s ideal for a Friday night.
9. You’re constantly amazed at how much work your RA does and think they’re probably just about the most patient person you’ve ever met.
10. That interim between taking a test and receiving it back is completely nerve-wracking. You want it until the moment it’s handed to you. Then you really don’t want to know what the grade is. But you look anyway. Because actually you do want to know what the grade is.
11. You sometimes have to give yourself a pep talk before studying. “Okay, we’re gonna focus now. The laptop is staying on the other side of the room.”
12. Hand. Cramps. You take notes on the computer to alleviate the pain, but tests are agony. You’re pretty sure you’ll never be able to write again.
13. You get really strong back muscles from hauling all your books around. Although you’re pretty sure your 80-year-old self is going to hate you. A lot.
14. Your day is absolutely made when they have your favorite flavor of ice cream in the cafeteria.
15. You save your notebooks when you finish a class, because what if you want to revisit the information later?
College is great. Sure, it has its cons (hand cramps really are awful, people), but so many pros. I mean, heck, what other time in your life will learning be your sole occupation?