I miss college.
I miss the feeling of “being free” and living on your own for the first time. I miss the flexible schedule that allowed for my daily afternoon nap. I miss meeting new people every semester. I miss the rush and excitement of the beginning of a new year. I miss tailgating every Saturday during football season. I miss FAC (for those of you unfamiliar with this awesome event, it is Friday After Class – awesome deals at the bars!) and my ability to get 3 drinks for $2.25. I even miss being so poor that I couldn’t afford full-priced clothes and only spent $15/week on groceries.
Cheap bars, fun times.
I miss it all.
My gorgeous BFF and fellow G Phi, Heidi and I on a cold VEISHEA weekend!
You would think that by extending my college time by two years (THANK YOU grad school!!) and being out in the real world for almost 4 years that I would have become accustomed to the 9-5 (This timeframe is a joke, BTW - They really need to change the saying to 8-6!) life. Sadly, this is not the case.
Jana and I fresh off of the plane in Amsterdam – Zero makeup and awake for approximately 24 hours… Of course it is time for a Heineken tour! Goodness I miss my International Business course…
I remember one of my professors in college telling the class that “we didn’t know how good we had it” – referring to the life of a college student. At the time, I scoffed. Hello?? I work 50+ hours per week in 3 jobs while taking 18 credits which included labs (and labs, my friends, are MUCH more than 18 hours per week!!)
When you’re 22, you’re skinny enough and young enough that dresses this short are appropriate! Oh Cancun, I miss you.
The thing is, time was flexible and you could make your own decisions. If I didn’t want to go to 8am biology, guess what – I didn’t go! (Just kidding, Mom… I went to ALL of my classes ;) ) And yes, I worked a lot (as a teaching assistant, a barista, a server, a student-athlete tutor, a biological science aide, a sustainable ag advocate…) but I always had time and energy to meet up with my friends for lunch or happy hour FAC or for a movie.
In college, you can wear sashes around your head and it is completely normal, even if it isn’t St. Patrick’s Day!
Go Cubs! Loved this trip to Chicago!
And now, looking back, yes, I really did have it good. Sigh. For those of you still in college, savor every. single. minute. Yes, savor the exams, the cramming, the all-nighters, the 50+ hours/week that you are working to pay for school, the flexibility, being poor, your roommates, all of the free things available to you as a college student because YOU WILL MISS IT when it is over.
21st Birthday. No comment here ;)
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I love the paycheck that comes with it. I love being able to afford nice things like expensive purses and clothes that are not on the 75% off sales rack and vacations and fancy restaurants. But, if someone were to offer me the opportunity to go back to college knowing that I would have to live the life of an overworked, poor college student once again – I would do it in an instant.
Seriously.
Since I had a little too much fun going through all of my old college photos, enjoy a few more of the best 6 years of my life!
I got Mitchell Man in college – I don’t recommend this! But look how cute he was!!! No wonder I adopted him :)
CUTENESS.
Emily at I in the limo after Heidi’s wedding! I loved being a bridesmaid while still being in college :)
Pre-tailgating at 5am. We were so cool ;)
What do you miss most about college?
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Oh my goodness, do I EVER relate to this post!!!!! I get nostalgic for college all the time. During my college years, I wrote on a daily basis in a (don’t laugh) livejournal. Every once in a while, I’ll pull it up and lose hours re-reading old posts and sifting through pictures, and then when I pick my head up it’s like “Oh wait…it’s 2013? Not 2006?” I miss the carefree feeling of being in college the most– when the biggest thing to worry about was a paper due next week or what to wear on Friday night. “The future” seemed so far away and living in the moment has never been as easy as it was during college.
I love this :) I wish I would have kept a journal to keep track of all of my crazy memories!
It’s hard to imagine life post-grad. I have another year and a half and I cannot get out fast enough. I know I’ll miss it when it’s over but I haven’t really had those amazing memories while I’ve been here to make me appreciate it. It just seems like I’m ready to move on and do something I really love. And you’re right- labs take up SO MUCH TIME.
I actually hated my first year of college. I went to SLU and ended up transferring to ISU after my freshman year. I am SO happy that I did and was able to connect with amazing women and make some fantastic friendships.
I miss college too!! I went to Iowa (go Hawkeyes!) and also miss FAC, Iowa City, only having a couple of hours of class a day, friends living a block from me…I could go on and on!
Oooh a Hawkeye fan! I’ll forgive you, we all make mistakes ;) Haha… some of my bestest friends are Hawkeyes!
hahaa i feel like i have all the same pictures !! i am back in school now but i commute and since i am back i have to take it way more seriously but just when my friends were in college meeting them for FAC was always the best, and penny beers! oh do i miss that.
Haha. Yes, penny beers :) Oh the memories!
Yes, I definitely felt myself nodding while reading this. So true!! And of course, I always love that you are an Iowa girl with all your Midwest references :) I miss time with my best friend the most. We had so many movie nights, dinner nights. I would go sit on her bed and we would talk about anything for hours. But I will say that I appreciate this time too, knowing that I will assuredly miss it someday. Life before kids, before any more responsibilities than I already have, being engaged, and Saturdays on the couch with my friends. It makes me think of the “You’re Gonna Miss This,” song :) Great post!!
Yes, definitely! I’m sure I’ll be looking back on this time when I am busy with kid’s activities every night and wish I could be in my post-school days again :)
I agree with you about missing afternoon nap time! And the ability to “miss” that 8am class. . . can’t happen with work unfortunately!
Haha – I’ve tried to instigate a nap time at work… For some reason management never goes for it ;)
You went to Iowa State?!? I had no idea! I am originally from Iowa and it is the state that will always have my heart! I am, however, a Hawkeyes fan! ;)
Yay for Iowans! Boo for Haw… wait, just kidding. I’ll still be your friend :)
Haha, thank goodness!! I was a little worried! ;)
Woman, you were probably beating guys off with a stick in college! That white dress? So college-y and HOT!
Oh, and you’re always welcome to come relive your college days with me. I’ll introduce you to all the nice frat boys and point you in the direction of the best FAC (let’s be honest- TAC- Thursday after class) deals.
Bahaha – I love that you have a TAC!! Reliving my college days would be a dream come true. I might make a surprise visit ;)
It’s funny because I thought I wouldn’t miss it but I totally do… just the other day I started working on a paper for my internship at like noon, and remembered how I used to just pull all-nighters when I had to write papers instead of actually being responsible and doing them at a decent hour! But they were fun because I would stay up with my friends at the library and eat tons of sugary candy to keep us going. Ugh god, I feel old and I’m only 23 (24 in a month)
Happy {early} birthday! Yes, it is amazing how quickly you feel old once you’re done with college :/
Oh man, I miss college SO much too! I would 100% go back. I agree, it’s nice to have money and not worry about it so much anymore…but that was pretty much the only downside to college. I loved everything else and would go back in a heartbeat.
If I could relive college as a rich kid, now that would be ideal. Haha!
I completely agree with everything you said. In college I couldn’t wait to get out, but now that I’m in the real world I would do anything to go back! The carefree, flexible lifestyle is definitely what I miss the most. Cute pictures! So fun to go over stuff like that.
Yes, I agree! I miss the flexibility the most.
This made me so nostalgic! such a cute post, Becky!
I had to do it! I was looking through old Facebook photos and drowning my post-college sorrows in wine and thought I’d share it with everyone :)
I’m still in grad school but I miss undergrad! Undergrad was much more fun, I think I might spent more time socializing than I did studying.
I feel ya on missing college and being that young. Those were the days!!
I miss my semester abroad. Best time!
The thing I miss most is just how available everyone was. I would IM one of my friends and we’d be hanging out within minutes. Thursday nights were always girl talk while pre-gaming for the bar. Fridays were drinking games with the boys. I never ate a meal alone. It was just so awesome to always have someone available to hang out with. Thanks for the trip down memory lane :)
I agree!! Now it feels like you have to plan for WEEKS in advance in order to get everyone together :(
LOVE this! I miss college soooooo much, too. Although I went to Iowa (go hawks!) I can totally relate to you 100% with working 3 jobs, having no $ for clothes or food but always made it to FAC every. single. friday. And still got up to tailgate on Melrose at 6 am ;) Annnnnd made it to Ames for Veisha a couple of times. Best 4 years ever!
I didn’t know that you went to Iowa! I actually almost went there my freshman year but decided on SLU instead… BAD decision! In a rush at the end of my freshman year, I transferred to ISU so now I am a true Cyclone ;)
You are so stinking cute!!
I miss my college friends a lot. We did everything together and you get so much closer to college friends than those from other stages. We all scattered after graduation and I remember crying knowing it would never be the same. I don’t miss having to study nights and weekends though….that’s a good part of being in the working world (and the paycheck too)
Oh yes, I LOVE having nights and weekends free from studying!
Isn’t it crazy that working full time + being in school + still having time to be silly and go out till the wee hours of the night! I miss those fun times of being so carefree! I always go through photos at the beginning of the year and this all reminded me of those photos I found of me and my girlfriends running around half naked in vegas after finals week! crazy times + fond memories :) O to go back just for a weekend! Love + Shine CourtStar
I wish I had the endless energy now that I had then. How I miss it!
i miss college too…all i think was it was all about me…my time me. all the time me. all selfish at its finest.
I love college too! It’s seriously so much fun and I have made so many memories! I am glad that I have 4 more years to go haha. Right now I am taking a break from studying for my midterms. I know you say to enjoy cramming but I hate it. It stresses me out so much that I have to take some time and read my favorite blogs :)
OMG. I just died reading this post. I swear I say weekly that I miss college. It really was so amazing. My alcohol tolerance is pathetic now, and I really had it so good in college, regardless of the money situation!
Did you study abroad in college? I did for a year…and I only spent one long weekend in Amsterdam; one of the only things I missed was the Heineken Museum/Distillery though, and I wish I’d gone!
Hey Becky! So I’m totally late in catching up on my blog reader this week, but I love this post! I really enjoyed college, too. It seems so stress-free in hindsight. But then I think that in my thirties, I’ll look back on my twenties and think that was a stress-free time, too. And then when I’m in my forties, I’ll look back on my thirties. *sighs* So now I’m just trying to live in the moment, breathe deeply in the moment, and appreciate what I love about now. I always smile when I remember my college days though! Thanks for sharing these pics. :)