College, the beginning of the end. The best of times, the worst of times. When you finally taste independence for the first time, and realize that along with great power and great responsibility come the Herculean tasks of having to wash your own clothes and sort out your own health bills.
There will, inevitably come a time in your college life, in which you will be a) crying, b) unshowered for the past week, c) up to your neck in assignments, but blissfully watching True Detective. Vodka, they say, goes with everything. Except decisions.
1. Sleep Is For The Weak
Of course you can subsist on Redbull and black coffee for a week! It is a completely feasible proposition to stay up the entire night in the bus on your college trip, stay up the following three nights, because, after all, you can sleep when you’re dead right?
What follows is days of walking around like an escaped extra from the sets of The Walking Dead, randomly snapping at people at the slightest provocation, and fits of tears and drowsiness. Take it from someone who knows – when in doubt, sleep.You owe it to yourself.
2. DIY? OMG
College is known as the time one becomes well-versed with the ubiquitious and essential life-skill known as “jugaad.” Yet it is easy to get carried away, either to save money, or to feel that high of self-sufficiency.
Remember, there are certain things, like cutting your own bangs, cooking in the microwave for days, and avoiding going to the doctor by taking intermittent doses of Crocin that are best avoided. Some things should be left to the professionals.
3. Dispensing With Cleanliness
When you have two tests, three presentations, society work, and papers to submit, it becomes easy to postpone that shower to noon, then to evening, then to night, until, before you know it, your hair resembles Chewbacca rolling in Cheeselings, and you begin to suspect that the foul smell emanating is actually from you.
You can’t be bothered enough to wear flip-flops in the shower, and end up with something suspiciously like ringworms, and when you go out, you wear flip-flops, because “ce-la-vie”, and before you know it, your room is covered in mud and you want to cry.
If you let things slide, you might end up in a room that looks like Hurricane Katrina slid through it. No matter how busy you are, take five minutes each day to sort out your mess – you’ll thank yourself for it.
4. I Extremely Love Extremes
College students, like rubber bands, often get stretched too much in one direction. And we all know what follows – *SNAP.* It seems natural to invest all your effort into only one thing at a time, and that isn’t a bad thing.
But you might just end up either buried in piles of readings, with no recollection of when you last spoke to your friends, or conversely, trying to cover the smoke detector with tape to be able to smoke (hint : that won’t work). Take care not to extend yourself too much in one direction. Remember, balance is key.
