I can almost bet anyone who read the title of this article is thinking: Wow, what a ridiculous comparison. Well, it really isn't that ridiculous after all.
Thomas Jefferson is just like you.
Historians have done their research, and come out with a few facts that were actually a bit shocking.
Jefferson kept to a basic daily schedule his entire life. Now sure, you are not in college your whole life, but you are in some kind of school for the majority of it. Thus, your daily schedule is relatively the same, just like Jefferson.
Within this schedule, he allotted time for writing, his friends, and drinking coffee. Sound familiar? That may be because as a college student majority of your time is spent writing, whether that be notes, essays, etc. Another large portion of a college student's life is dedicated to coffee. Drinking it, making it, buying it. You name it, someone somewhere is doing it.
Jefferson also did not wake up at a specific time every day. In fact, he didn't wake up until there was enough sunlight to read his bedside clock. Likewise, without the advancements in technology, many of you (us) would not wake up until there was enough sunlight to wake you. And even with a decent amount of light, you would remain asleep until your internal alarm felt necessary. Some of you probably still ignore your alarms and choose to do this.
One of my favorite parts of reading what historians found was Jefferson saying he had not slept in for 50 years. This was particularly entertaining because I have a 7:30 a.m. calc class, so I will definitely understand the feeling.
Something Odyssey creators, English majors, or writers, in general, can relate to is the fact that during his life, Jefferson wrote over 20,000 letters; something I am sure we all feel like we have done at one point or another.
Jefferson also dressed simply. Now girls who walk around in oversized t-shirts and Nike shorts have a past president to relate to! To top it all off, Jefferson's style caused controversy similarly to a common college girl's "trash walking" when a diplomat was shocked to be called upon by President Jefferson still is in his slippers.
Now obviously, college students can't say they wrote the Declaration of Independence, or say that they were a United States president (yet), but they surely can say they have a lot in common with Thomas Jefferson!