6. College Parties

It’s actually depressing how immediately you feel like a dinosaur when entering a college party as a ‘real person.’ Everything that used to be so illuminated is gray and decaying and the reality of your age compared to the rest of the people in the room sinks in. The freshmen girls that seemed so eager to jump your bones a few, short months ago now walk away from you when you tell them you’ve graduated. The kids still enjoying the best years of their lives can detect your miserable, real world stench from a mile away. It’s not pretty.

7. Restricted Roads

Whether it is winter break or spring break, or even just a weekend getaway, college and road trips are synonymous with one another. The freedom of the open road matches the complete independence of college life; however, once out of college, the road is a lot less open. The weekend trips become limited, if not obsolete, and you begin to earn for the days where you could get away from the dorm life and go bend at one of your other buddy’s school for the weekend.

8. Expenses Pile Up

The safety net of college doesn’t prepare students for the expensiveness of the real world. No matter where you go, what you do or who you are with you, money will be spent, and usually in excess. That is true in college and actually holds true once you graduate, which isn’t a good thing, because along with all the day-to-day expenses you will have to worry about paying off loans in addition to other monthly payments for your car, electricity, cable, insurance, etc.

9. Life as a Student is Good

You will never admit to this while cramming in studying for your finals one week before the test is handed out, but once you leave school the life of being a student will be glorified in your mind. Yes, homework isn’t fun, but when it’s your only true worry or responsibility life is a lot more manageable. More importantly, telling others that you are a student automatically gives you the benefit of time; that you’re working towards something but you’re not quite there yet. It’s a lot better to have time in front of you than it is to have it peering over your shoulder every day and asking, “What comes next?”
That’s what life outside of the classroom looks like.

10. The Weekend Isn’t the Weekend

This should be inferred by now, but in case you didn’t get it – the freedom and fun of college has an expiration date and you will taste it once you have to work a full weekend following a full work week. There’s nothing quite like a Sunday morning spent in the office. Hopefully there won’t be many of these, but one will be enough to jolt you uncomfortably into feeling the frustrations of post-college life.