What I’ve Learned in College by Rebecca

Hey, everyone! Hope you’re all having a great weekend. A few girls in my hall have compiled a list of things we’ve learned in college-I’m here to inform you and give you advice as to how to avoid some of them, as well as highlight the good ones!

1)     Floors are basically as comfortable as the beds you get – it’s true, the given mattresses aren’t exactly Sleep Number beds that are perfectly designed for you. But it’s fixable. There’s a thing called an egg crate pad…BUY ONE…My bed at school is more comfy than the one I have at home because of it. (By the way, the part that looks like an actual egg crate goes on facing down so that the top is flat. I had some trouble with that one.)

2)     Sleep doesn’t really exist – I had to disagree with this one, personally. It’s all about time management, guys. I know you’ve heard it a million times before, but it’s so true. I manage my time and do homework in between classes and then I don’t have to stay up super late working on homework. Also, it’s a good idea to print out every syllabus and put EVERY due date in a planner- that really helps keep you organized so you don’t stay up late doing a last minute assignment you forgot about!

3)     If you don’t have air, your life sucks – yep, it’s summer. It’s also hot. And no, most of the dorm halls don’t have air conditioning (and you’re especially out of luck if you’re a freshman…) But, I promise it does get better. Buy fans. Lots of fans. And by the third or fourth week, you’ll be able to study under a blanket.

4)     Girls are nasty and dump ramen noodles in the sink and don’t clean them out – I wouldn’t say this is just girls, though. The dorm halls are your homes for a whole school year. Treat them like your homes. The RA’s can tell the janitors not to clean the bathrooms and leave it up to us students. You don’t want that. Clean up after yourself!

5)     If you don’t lock your door at night someone WILL come in thinking it is their room – I haven’t personally experienced this one, but think back to number 4. This is your house. Treat it as such. Always lock your door when you or your roommate are not in there, and always lock it when you are asleep. Side note – bring your keys EVERYWHERE, even if you’re just going to take a shower and you think your roommate will be in there when you go back. He/she may need to go to class or a meeting you didn’t know/remember about. Getting locked out of your room is never fun! Luckily, the university gives out lock-out keys for situations like this, but you get a small number of uses per semester before they charge you so try to prevent it!

6)     On occasion there’s someone preaching religion to people who don’t care to hear – you will definitely run into (and I do mean this literally at times…) preachers on campus. On occasion you will hear people yelling sermons in the middle of old campus. Sometimes people will hand you literature about a religion. Yes, it is sometimes annoying when you’re trying to take a relaxing walk on campus and someone starts yelling about how the people who aren’t in their particular religion will go to hell, but keep in mind that they have the right to free speech just like you do, and it’s better to just walk along and ignore them than to yell back.

7)     Your laundry gets thrown on the table if you aren’t there RIGHT when your dryer goes off – yeah, this can be a problem. But it is definitely preventable. Make a magnet or something cute with your name and room number on it. Place it on your washer/dryer. Then, when your washer/dryer is done, the next person who needs it will come and get you instead of putting your nice, clean clothes on the floor or the table. (A note to those of you who are not into the “artsy stuff” like making magnets – a post-it note with your name and room number works just as well!)

So far, that’s the bulk of the important things we’ve learned. Perhaps I’ll have a longer list further in the semester. But for now, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I am home again this weekend, and am quite upset that I am missing the Black Swamp Art Festival in downtown BG. I would have loved to tell you all about it. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to go next year!

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