College in a Nutshell

Happy Tuesday! As many of you may know, I graduated college last month – YAY! Through it all, I was fortunate enough to attend two amazing schools, study abroad for a semester, receive a degree with both a major and a minor (communication/public relations), and finish it all a semester early.

College was hands-down the best time of my life (so far). Don’t get me wrong, high school was cool and everything, but college really takes life to the next level. So, I wanted to share with you all some of the highs and lows of the past 3 1/2 years.

Highs:

1. All the friends – When people say you’ll meet people in college that you will be friends with for the rest of your life, they’re not kidding. I was lucky enough that some of the best friends I made were my roomies! When I came into APU as a freshman, I was paired with two random girls and I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous to meet them. We had a FB chat going on before move-in day (classic) and one of my roomies had said “we should start a dialogue about who gets which bed.” A DIALOGUE!? Who says that?! That sentence freaked me out so much I was almost sure we would never hit it off. But I was SO wrong. Us three roomies were the most different people in the world but we became the best of friends. Also, when I transferred to CBU, I lived with THE BEST girls and it didn’t take long for us to become attached at the hip. I’m not kidding when I say that coming home to our tiny apartment after a day of class was the highlight of each of my days because I was literally coming home to my best friends. These are the people that will be in my wedding, who will babysit my kids one day, and who will be in my heart forever. Sorry for the sob fest but really you meet the BEST people in college.
2. Semester at Sea!!! – OKAY PEOPLE. If you go to college you 100% HAVE to study abroad. Whether you choose one country to go to or do SAS like I did, you must (must must must) study abroad. I traveled to 10 countries over 100 days and basically lived like Zack and Cody on their Suite Life on Deck show. I got to travel throughout Europe, Africa, and South America – learning more in one semester than I learned throughout all my classes back home. It was the most adventurous, enriching, eye-opening time of my life and I wish I could have done it every semester.
3. Living on campus – Living on campus is like having a sleepover with your best friends EVERY DAY. What could be better?! Life is so simple and so good. You walk to class, walk to the gym, walk over to the cafeteria and get some food with your friends, and then go back to your apartment and binge watch American Horror Story until the wee hours of the night (if you’re like me & my roomies). You can do whatever you want whenever you want. You can decorate your tiny home so it looks like a Pinterest board or you can not do laundry for a month – it’s really up to you.

Lows:

1. Being away from your dog: I don’t know about you, but my dog and I are like peas and carrots. She’s my right hand (wo)man and my ultimate BFF. So, as you can imagine, leaving her for long amounts of time was the absolute worst. At night I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with her; but unfortunately, college’s don’t allow furry friends (WHY? IDK) so I had to settle for my pillow pet instead. The only good thing about this time apart was that it made our reunions and time together that much sweeter.
2. Being away from your mom: My mom is the cutest, weirdest, sweetest mom in the world and although having freedom is amazing, you’ll always miss your mom. Now, I’m lucky because my school was only about 40 minutes from home so her and her hugs were only a short drive away.
3. How fast it goes by: GUYS. I’m a college GRAD. College is over. I feel like I was just in high school and it’s crazy that these milestones in my life are flying by. So, if you’re about to start college or if you’re already in it, enjoy each and every moment!!!