Discover the Freedom: College Life Perks | The Odyssey Online
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Student Life

Things You Can Get Away With Now That You're At College

83% of my trends in college would have been shamed in high school.

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college life
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Transitioning from high school to college can be a stressful experience, especially if you're like me and hate change. Over the past two years I've realized there's many things I couldn't get away with in High School that are typically applauded in college.

1. Eat

In high school, you can sometimes get away with eating snacks in class. In college? Professors don't care what you eat. Soda in your 8 AM? Acceptable. Late night snack in the library? No second thoughts. It doesn't matter where you are, food is always acceptable.

2. Be seen running across campus

Waking up at 7:57 for an 8:00 AM class and realizing it's the one day of the year you shouldn't miss... Yeah, sprinting to the other side of campus is acceptable. Suddenly I realize how my days at the gym have paid off. In high school? You get in trouble for being late, but you also get written up for running in the hall. No winning.

3. Sleep

In high school, I could go from school to sports practice to drama rehearsal. Don't get me wrong, I took a few naps before practice in the hallway... But there was always at least one person who would have a comment to make about it. In college? You can sleep anywhere without any judgement, usually without so much as a double take. It's kind of expected in a college environment.

4. Skip Class

Is skipping classes the brightest decision? Probably not... But you really don't miss anything and most professors don't even take attendance anyway. High school on the other hand... I once got written up for skipping a class when I was dismissed early for a funeral. The freedom on this end makes college life almost bearable.

5. Blurt out

In high school, you were raising hands and taking turns. In college, on the other hand, if you raise your hand, you don't get a chance to talk half of the time.

6. Wear dresses

Trying to get through a day, in high school, in a dress is a nightmare. Between friends, teachers, and people you've never even seen before, the "Why are you dressed up?" question tends to get a little infuriating. In college, wearing a dress is not that out of the ordinary. Instead of the inquisitive responses, compliments are actually given out.

7. Wear Crocs

Even better than dresses being socially acceptable... Crocs. Do I still get the occasional joke made about my Crocs? Yeah, but nothing compared to wearing them in high school. They're definitely making a comeback and the comfort of my feet are eternally grateful.

8.Run on 4 hours of sleep

Getting through the day on 4 hours of sleep becomes the norm, and that's on a good day. In high school, I was once told that I looked like I had been hit by a truck. In college though, it's not out of the ordinary to look that way.

9. Use a Laptop

I honestly don't know how college student use pen and paper for taking notes. Professors change slides before I can get the first bullet point down. The freedom of technology in the classroom honestly saves my GPA.

10. Crying

If you're seen crying in high school, you may as well just take a video to send out - everybody finds out. Crying on campus, on the other hand, totally acceptable. Often encouraged. It doesn't matter why or where, it's always okay to cry in college.

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Students walking on a sunny college campus with trees and buildings.

"Make sure to get involved when you're in college!"

We've all heard some variation of this phrase, whether it came from parents, other family members, friends, RAs, or college-related articles. And, like many clichés, it's true for the most part. Getting involved during your college years can help you make friends, build your resume, and feel connected to your campus. However, these commitments can get stressful if you're dealing with personal issues, need to work, or aren't sure how to balance classes and everything else going on during the semester.

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9 Reasons Why Friends Are Essential In College

College without friends is like peanut butter without jelly.

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Bridgaline Liberati and friends
Bridgaline Liberati

In college, one of the essential things to have is friends. Yes, textbooks, a laptop, and other school supplies are important but friends are essential. Friends are that support system everybody needs. The more friends you have the better the support system you have. But you also have someone to share experiences with. And don’t settle for just one or two friends because 8 out of 10 times they are busy and you are studying all alone. Or they have other friend groups that do not include you. Don’t settle for just one or two friends; make as many friends as you can. After the first couple of weeks of college, most friend groups are set and you may be without friends.

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The Power of Dressing Up

Why it pays to leave the hoodie at home.

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Sister | Brother Style - Word Press

For a moment your world is spinning. The phone alarm has just scared you awake and you’re flooded by daunting thoughts of the day ahead. You have three assignments due and little time to work on them because of your job. You’re running late because you’ve hit snooze one to many times after yesterday’s long hours. You dizzily reach for a hoodie, craving its comfort, and rush for a speedy exit, praying you will have time to pick up coffee. Does this sound familiar?

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RBF

1. People assume you are mad all of the time.

2. Ten out of ten times you will give off an intimidating impression to others.

3. People do not acknowledge your feelings because you "do not have any."

4. Constantly being exhausted from trying to smile and not look like a witch.

5. And on the rare occasion your facial expressions show how happy you are, your friends think you are going crazy.

6. Each of your friends has said "I thought you were so mean when I first met you" at some point.

7. Then they follow that by saying "you are just hard to read."

8. So naturally if people do not know you they just assume you are a snob.

9. And when you are actually mad, your facial expressions are horrifying.

10. In the end you always look like you are judging people, when in reality people are ALWAYS judging you.

Woman with sunglasses smiling, showing peace signs with both hands.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

This week, my parents went on vacation and left me with the responsibility of watching the house and the dog. Easy, right? Feed the dog, don’t burn the house down, do whatever you want within reason. I’m not the type to throw wild parties or have a parade of hookups, and my parents know this. The most I do is bring my laptop into the family room and refuse to use headphones.

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