1. Your legs are a miraculous mode of transportation.

They can get you, quite literally, anywhere… as long as you have the time.

2. Public Transportation is glorious.

Especially at 2 a.m. on the weekend.

3. It doesn’t matter who you were in high school, who you knew or what you accomplished.

No one cares.

4. This may be the only true “fresh” start you will receive.

No one knows you and you are free to be exactly the person that you choose to be.

5. Time is money.

It didn’t hit you right away, but the more you have to do- the more you’re beginning to realize that you have to optimize every moment you have.

6. If it’s Thursday night, it’s already the weekend.

(Yes, you know what I mean.)

7. Yes, you are an adult.

But not really.

8. Your R.A. is either your best friend, your worst enemy or someone you’ve never even met.

This is real life.

9. Coffee is a necessity.

Don't tell yourself anything differently, because it's a life.

10. People actually WANT to sit front row in lectures.

11. College dating is SO much more fun than dating in high school.

No parents, so.

12. People that were “outcasts” in high school, ended up at the same school that the top cheerleader did and that pretty much shows just how equal everyone is seen at college.

You all earned your place and now you’re all in the same situation.

13. Just about anyone will talk to anyone because college can suck and we’re all in this together.

(It can also be amazing at times and you share that with strangers too.)

14. College students are really just tall 5 year-olds.

YES, I WANT THOSE FRUIT SNACKS.

15. Your eating habits change drastically when you move away from home.

For better or for worse. Sometimes you eat 3 dinners, sometimes you eat no dinner and sometimes you eat dinner at 10 o’clock at night.

16. You are going to call your parents a million and two times.

All for questions that you really should have learned the answer to a long time ago.

17. It’s okay to eat alone.

In fact, if you don’t want to starve to death… it’s pretty much necessary.

18. If a friend asks you to go to dinner, they mean at the dining halls.

An actual restaurant costs actual money. That's a no-go.

19. You don’t actually know how to make friends.

In fact, now that you think about it… you’re pretty sure that all your friends from high school chose you, not the other way around.

20. High school did not prepare you for the realities of college.

Because why would life be that easy and logical?

21. Alcohol changes people.

People make this choice fairly early in their college career- is alcohol or education my priority?

22. The answer to free is ALWAYS yes.

(Especially free food.)

23. Almost no job you have in college is glorious.

But it pays and that’s all that matters.

24. Your roommate is either your best friend or your worst enemy.

Either way, you live for those weekends that they go home or leave for some other reason.

25. Illness spreads faster in the dorms than it does in a kindergarten classroom.

Basically the plague.

26. You’ll do almost anything for a few extra dollars.

Because, yes, you are indeed broke.

27. Finding a letter or postcard in your mailbox can literally make your entire week.

Someone cared enough to send you something other than a text???

28. Everyone walks around with headphones in.

It’s kind of like music is their escape between classes.

29. Keeping a planner is a lifesaver.

Not just something cutesy like it was in high school.

30. You can forget about sleep.

Most people get about 6 hours a night if they’re lucky.

31. There aren’t really “friend groups” in college.

Because you make a friend here or there and you bring them together for events, but you’re all living different lives.

32. Your priorities shift drastically.

Things like working out and reading for leisure have to be planned or they don’t happen, simply because you no longer have the time.

33. People don’t go to class on Fridays.

Especially not to morning classes.

34. If you skip a class, no one is going to say or do anything to you.

Similarly, if you sleep or text the only one you’re hurting is yourself. And, yes, people really do show up to a lecture only to sleep through it.

35. Netflix is always a temptation.

After all, would you rather watch another episode of Grey’s or write that 5-page thesis paper?

36. There is a student organization for EVERYTHING.

And, if by some slim chance there’s not, you can start one.

37. Academic Advisors are a gift from the heavens.

(Assuming you get along with yours.)

38. At this point, you don’t know whether you’re procrastinating or you simply don’t have time?

Either way, you kind of feel like you’re drowning in to-do lists.

39. If you want to maintain past relationships, you have to put serious effort into them or they will fade and dissipate.

Decide ASAP which ones you need, and which ones need you.

40. You will lose several “friends” from high school when you move away to college.

It’s inevitable as you begin to build your own lives. At the same time, there will be some friendships that become stronger than ever.

41. Students, especially the older they get, look like their majors.

(Seriously.)

42. Rape culture is incredibly prevalent and something that lies in the back of everyone’s minds.

#metoo

43. College, for most students, brings them out of their shells and helps them to be truly comfortable in their own skins.

Embrace this.

44. A very prevalent argument is the benefits of taking notes by hand compared to the benefits/harmful effects of taking notes on a computer.

And just about everyone (including Professors) have an opinion.

45. Some lectures, if you read the textbook and understand it, simply aren’t worth going to.

So don't go.

46. Chauvinism is incredibly real, but so is chivalry.

On that note, some girls are just looking for a good time and some are looking for a relationship of substance.

47. Each and every Professor is astoundingly unique in their own way; and, some really care about you while some really, really don’t.

(Office hours are scary.)

A real adult buying you a fancy cup of coffee or dinner is amazing.

48. People make jokes about students who change their major one or several times, but the reality is it’s not something to joke about.

It’s a big decision and it’s a difficult one. High school doesn’t really prepare you for the numerous opportunities the real world offers and students who are brave enough to reach out and grab onto what they truly want should be admired, not mocked.

49. You’re either really good about your water intake or absolutely terrible at it.

Either way, drink more.

50. You will begin to feel like you know someone when you repeatedly, consistently see them around (in class, on the bus, etc.)

When indeed, you do not know them and you’re pretty sure they’ve never even noticed you.

51. If you have a good relationship with your roommate, their friends become your friends and vice versa.

You’re pretty much always tired (even if you did sleep 13 1/2 hours last night.)

52. College students are the butt of a lot of jokes from non-college students and they were slightly funny at first, but you’re sick of them by now.

It’s only okay to make fun of your miserable life if the person making fun of it is suffering the same misery.

53. When it rains, almost no one has an umbrella.

And everyone, including yourself, just rolls with it.

54. No one stops for cars; actually, now that you think about it, hardly anyone even hesitates to look to see if there’s a car coming.

And at first, you did at least look but now… well, maybe if you get hit they’ll pay for your college tuition?

55. People will get on a bus even if it only saves them 3 blocks of walking.

Especially in the winter.

56. Care packages are happiness in the form of mail.

If you're reading this, please send.