Things I Learned My First Year of College

Here we are, the Saturday before finals week and I thought I'd take the time I should be studying to share with you some of the awesome things I've learned this year. While these are really only a few of the insights the experience has afforded me, as this adventure draws to a close, I thought I'd share with you a list of the  top ten lessons I learn in my first year of college.

1. Anything can and will mold.
Except for like Twinkies. Really. Coffee molds! Who knew, right?

2. All you need are socks.
And until you need socks or other unmentionables, you won't do laundry. Not for your lucky jeans. Not for your sheets. Not even for the only shirt that doesn't make you look fat. Until you need socks or undies, you will make do.

3. Make work fun.
Working in college kind of sucks, but only if you let it. I work the worst job imaginable - Campus Dining. But about 99% of the time I love my job because I make it fun. I talk to my co-workers and our customers and I will be the one laughing it off when something little goes wrong, working the fastest to get through the orders of the entire baseball team with a smile or following the stupid rules about cleaning/cooking/breathing cheerfully. I will be the one making the jokes, poking fun and having a great time. Because if I have to be here four days a week, it had better be fun.

4. What the hell is sociology?
Sociology, friends is the study of development, structure and functioning of human society and its institutions and it is awesome. I never knew what it was and probably would have gone my whole life without really knowing so if my first year experience course had not been with a sociology professor whose influence had a profound affect on me. Now I'm considering a minor in sociology and have a whole new perspective with which to view the world around me.
5. Boys will be boys.
You thought they'd be different then they were in high school, but no. They're just the same.

6. Studying is best done in solitude.
Group study is a great idea! We can all catch up with homework and each other at the same time! HA! Not.

7. Stress less.
Money, commitments, due dates, uncertainty, life... it's all so terrifying. Sometimes it all catches up with me and I have a mini panic attack. But then Bob Marley comes to the rescue and I play Three Little Birds and I believe everything he sings to me. Every little thing is going to be alright and it's nothing a few deep breaths and a good night's sleep can't fix.

8. Balance is key.
Balance your workload, balance your diet, balance you budget, balance your backpack, balance your friends, balance your life. Moderation is the golden rule.

9. Do what you want to when you want to.
If you wanna go, even if you have to go alone, then you should go. If you want to stay even through everyone else is going, then by all means stay. Be your own person for goodness sake. If you can't count on yourself to look after you, who will?

10. Communicate, Articulate, Elaborate.
In class, in relationships, in writing, in thought, in word - say what's in your head and heart, say it well and be prepared to expound on your ideas.

I Can Sort Of See Clearly Now

Today I got contacts. Who knew I was supposed to be able to see that trees have individual leaves? They're bald this time of year, anyway.

My Mother laughed at me while I was learning to put them on. Apparently my learning curve is a great deal broader than hers. I did, however, finally get them in my eye and blink about a thousand times before they settled correctly.

Hey! I can see! Sweet.

I then discovered that I am no longer able to see up close. Examining my fingernails was rather blurry business. Darn it, I'm still blind! This is apparently due to the fact that my eyeballs have a learning curve as well. Another rather broad curve. My friend laughed at me while I was trying to read things and had to hold them a ways away from my face.

Don't I have such kind and supportive people in my life? Really.

National Girlfriends Day

I don't know about you, but I love strange and obscure holidays nobody really knows or cares about. Mainly because I loathe cliche expectations. Don't get me wrong, tradition is a lovely thing. What is Christmas without a tree, Thanksgiving with no stuffing? In my world, those are dependable traditions. Every year they appear without fail, lest my secure little world crumble to ashes.

And yet, there is something fun about a holiday like National Jelly Bean day or Put a Zucchini on Your Neighbors Porch Night (I kid you not. Look it up. What else is Google for?). It's just delightfully and arrogantly childish to celebrate such a thing. Probably why I like it.

Thus, I give you a post for a 'holiday' of sorts. National Girlfriends Day. Not quite as fun as Ninja Day, but it does give me a chance to ramble (and how I love such opportunities).

Girlfriends. Those friends of ours who are, in fact, girls and not guys. A truer, prettier friend you would be hard pressed to meet.

Below are my classic examples of a true girlfriend.

Someone who will:

1. Paint your toenails and not get upset when you get more polish on her toe than on her actual nail.

2. Tactfully convince you NOT to get that orange top that just looks plain awful on you, without saying you look like a pumpkin.

3. Call you up for no reason at all and talk to you about nothing of much importance for at least 45 minutes.

4. Support you in, give her two cents worth about and be available for consultations about your love life 24/7.

5. Know what you are really trying to say even though you just sort of kind of said it, or just gave her a look.

6. Faithfully loathe the jerk who broke up with you/you broke up/cheated on you/broke your heart/said the wrong thing at the wrong time for all eternity.

7. Share her stuff with you and goodnaturedly steal something of equal or lesser value when you never return it, give it to your kid cousin or sell it in your family's yard sale.

8. Know your phone number, e-mail address, favorite color, candy, song and the guy you currently have a crush on like the back of her hand.

9. Feel comfortable yelling at your siblings and call your Mom "Mom".

10. Share her chocolate.

Feel free to add to my list. I am sure I have forgotten something. I do dearly love lists.

So Happy National Girlfriends Day, ladies.

You go, girls. :)