Life on a college campus is like an alternate universe. We don’t use real dollars, we use BRBs. We don’t start our days on the hour; it’s strictly 9:05 or 10:10. There are a lot of facts of college life that only exist for your time here, and when you later enter the real world, they are challenged and ultimately overruled. So, enjoy these rules while they last…
1A full night’s sleep is 5 hours
While we’re all proud of ourselves for getting any sleep at all, we’re going to hit a certain age when fewer than 8 hours won’t be enough. Those naps from 3:00 to 8:00 am will probably not cut it. So the next time your doctor asks if you’ve been getting enough sleep, you can say “for a college student, yes. In real life, no.”
2Weekends start on Wednesday nights
Weekends starting with Fishbowls at Level B are never-ending, until we graduate. The phenomenon of four-day weekends is out of control. The real world will only grant you Saturday and Sunday off, so mentally prepare for a longer week.
3Winter Break
We don’t even think twice about it, but college gives us a vacation for six weeks in the middle of the school year for no apparent reason. You might get some holidays and sick days, but beyond that, there’s no such thing as first and second semester – you work all year.
4Everyone is Walking Distance From You
Everyone you know is super close. Even if they live on the opposite end of campus, it still won’t take longer than 15 minutes to walk there. Once we leave our Cornell bubble, that won’t be the case anymore. People will spread out and you might actually need to factor in travel time. We won’t be able to make such impulsive and last minute plans with our friends.
5Parties for No Occasion
Sure, when we’re older, we’ll celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, but our parties will always have reasons. Apart from these kinds of occasions, we won’t have opportunities to go out every Thursday, Friday, or Saturday for zero reason at all. So if you enjoy ~party life~, enjoy it here while it’s easily accessible.
6Constant Events
In addition to parties, we also take the constant events around campus for granted. A capella concerts, dance shows, plays, guest speakers, bake sales, even puppy-petting. You name the activity – it’s here on campus. You could go to a different student-run event every day of the week, and never get bored. This is super specific to campus life, so go to as many events as you can before you leave!
