College Times

Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: Blogs

Your alcohol intolerance. Used to get drunk off of just two beers? Get ready to double, or maybe even triple, that.

Your body. They talk about puberty and your body changing in high school, but college is when you really become an adult. So say goodbye to being a skinny kid and hello to slower metabolism. Also, boobs keep growing in your 20s, who knew?!

Your independence. Here's where you'll learn about real-life stuff like paying rent, bills, your credit, lame stuff like that. But at the same time the world is yours; you can live where you want, do what you want, even go to class as much as you want, but try not to mess them up too badly, because, trust me, they stay with you.

Your maturity level. As a result of independence, you'll learn a lot about how the world really works, and after meeting tons of new people from all over the country, you'll have a better understanding of things, in general, and this will probably change how you'll want to act.

Your friends. Most people leave behind those little cliques they had in high school - unfortunately, not all of them since you'll still see some cliques sitting together at lunch and walking around in the same outfits, but besides those few, college friends are a whole new territory and it's awesome. Suddenly the jocks are friends with the geeks, and hippies with the thugs. It's pretty cool, because in college people judge you based on who you are not who you were in high school, so it's a fresh start.

Your taste. With meeting new people also comes learning about new types of music, movies, fashion, etc., so be ready to find a new world of things you love that you might not have even know existed before.

Your feelings about school. Before college, school is this thing that you have to go to that makes it something a lot of people dread. Don't get me wrong, you definitely won't want to go to your college classes every day, but when you're actually studying the things that you're truly interested, you'll want to learn. Not to mention when you spend all your money on these classes, you'll know that they're not something you want to retake.

Your financial status. Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, because there are the lucky few who still (thanks to their parents) don't have to worry about money in college, and then those who have always had to worry about it. But chances are, you're going to be poor in college! It's a weird feeling to learn you can't afford the groceries you want, or that you can't go shopping because you have to pay for insurance. You start adapting in strange ways - like I used to do my grocery shopping at the dollar store and then I would go home and try to make different dishes out of Ramen noodles! One college guy told me that he's so poor that he makes his own tomato soup out of ketchup and water. Ewe! Hard times but fun times.

Your relationships from home. When you move away and begin to do new things, it becomes harder to stay in touch with your old friends and even sometimes family members. Next thing you know you haven't talk to your best friend in a month. Try not to let it get you down, because things in life always change, and while it's sad, just get Facebook; you'll be okay.

Your health. When you're broke, you'll find that the only affordable food is crap. So, you're eating something off the dollar menu, drinking Natural Ice and growing a beer belly, because, guess what - gym memberships are expensive, too. Unfortunately, you see a lot more coffee, cigarettes and drugs in college than you probably used to, but just do your best because you certainly don't have to do any of those things. Although a 7:40 a.m. class with no coffee sounds impossible to me!

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