David Taintor

In just a few weeks I will be walking across a stage to receive my diploma and starting a new chapter in my life.

This upcoming event has recently caused me to look back into my old pictures on Facebook, and it made me realize how different things are from when I first came to college. Here are just some of the differences from college 2005 to college 2009.

“Wow, that doesn’t even look like you .”
Thankfully, as one ages into his or her 20s, looks-wise, things get better – at least in my case they did. When I first came to college I had long hair to my chest, a chubbier, babyish face and jeans that were much lighter than what I would ever consider wearing now.

Somewhere between now and then, and I don’t know when this happened, I’ve learned how to accentuate the best parts of my body with clothes, and shorter hair makes me look better. The less chubby face was just mother nature working her magic . thank you, mother nature!

“You need your Blugold to get in .”
Living arrangements have certainly changed since good ol’ freshman year. Instead of struggling at 2 a.m. to try and find my Blugold to get into Governors Hall, I am stumbling to the front door of my apartment, trying to find the keys I left on my desk hours earlier.

I appreciate now not having to convince the front door attendee that I live in the building, but what I love most is having my own room. The dorms are cramped, loud and at times smelly.

Also, not having to wear flip flops in the shower is nice, and buying toilet paper that isn’t one-ply or half-ply, but actually two-ply, makes things a little bit more comfortable. It’s also a plus to not worry about my car getting a ticket in the meters.

I am proud to say, though, I hold the 2005 to 2006 record as the girl who had the most tallies next to her name for being checked into Governors without her Blugold.

Party time, excellent!
Many added benefits come with age. At 16 it was getting your drivers license, at 18 it was being able to vote and doing all of those adult things you always wanted to do.

However, when I turned 21, life was taken to a whole new level. That’s right, not getting into trouble for the six pack of “soda” you had and being allowed to partake in the experience that is Water Street.

I was told that once I turned 21, I wouldn’t want to go out as much as I did before. It’s not that I don’t want to go out, I’m just too tired to handle all of the partying. My body can’t handle things as well as it used to. This has been one of the biggest and most disappointing differences I’ve noticed since starting college. I had a much better tolerance for my nightly antics when I was 19 and 20 than I do at 22. I will really miss my ability to celebrate the weekends as hard as I did.

School is harder
I almost forgot to address the actual school part of college. Right now college is much harder than what it was freshman year. If you are a freshman and thinking you miss your high school workload, trust me when I say it only gets worse as time goes by.

Extracurriculars become so much more important as you get older. By senior year you’ll have a full courseload and an internship to balance. All I can stress is appreciating your workloads now, and beware of capstone.

And now, the biggest difference of all – -I am a grown up. Honestly, I don’t feel like I am as old as I really am, but I know during these past four years, I have matured. The idea of supporting myself when I have a job isn’t as scary, and I know how to cook and how to overcome obstacles when they’re put in front of me.

And for that, I thank college for making me a different and more improved person from where I was four years ago. I will never forget it.

Saeger is a senior print journalism major and money/health editor of The Spectator.