The 12 Things A Girl Doesn't Learn In Time For Graduation

When you’re about to graduate from college, you can feel as if the world is ending and that’s largely because your world up until this point consisted mostly of exams and meal plans.

Living within the confines of your campus affords you many things (namely, an education), but it does also limit you in other aspects of learning. There are some insights that you don’t realize before graduation, which makes moving forward all the more exciting.

Here’s a sneak preview at what’s in store:

1. You’ll never be this smart again

Both scientifically and intellectually speaking, unless you are furthering your education, you are never going to feel this knowledgeable again. Not only does the brain slow its maturation around age 23, but you’ll also cease having to study for things like Beyond Insights Into Earth 240.

One fateful day you’ll stumble upon your old papers and think, “Wow, I was really living up to my full potential back there.” Cherish the brain cells and textbook wisdom you have now because your mind will never be this stimulated again.

2. Think before you listserv

In college, joining a listserv is the best way to expand your interests and social circle. In life, joining a listserv is the best way to spam your inbox and invite hackers to steal your credit card. And, just like your pesky neighbor who lives down the hall, once you open your door to unsolicited communication, it’s very hard to close it.

3. Less clothing is not always more attractive

Do yourself a favor and purge your closet of anything that’s more than 85 percent lycra or string. There is no place for butterfly tops in the real world -- this is what Halloween is for post-college. Once you graduate, the amount of clothing you wear is proportional to how seriously people will take you.

Trying to dress-up that Welcome Week cut tank-top is just not the right move, but may we kindly suggest saving it for the pool party? Plus, when half your money goes to work-clothes, you’ll start repurposing your blouses, not belly shirts.

4. Spring Break is a privilege

If someone told me I can take an entire week off with two days to recuperate and not once think about any sort of responsibility, I’d think I was being shipped off against my will on to a reality TV show. A place where all your friends will be, and even better gossip will spread afterwards? That is the stuff of fantasy and "Real Housewives."

5. Your first job will not matter nearly as much as it does right now

Chances are you’ll either A. find out that this is totally not what you want to be doing or B. discover that you still have a lot more to do before you get where you want to be. In both scenarios, your first job is kind of like freshman year all over again except you don’t get to sleep through 9 am Sociology.

6. Being healthy is cool

Remember how you used to brag about getting so messed up you didn’t know where you were? There’s now a very small window for that kind of story-telling. Devouring an entire plate of noodles is not nearly as brag-worthy as finishing an entire Blueprint cleanse.

7. The scene is the same everywhere

Whatever scene you’re a part of, you’ll quickly learn that there’s no need to FOMO another Friday night out. You know who the players are, the setting and the usual suspects. And these standardized fundamentals can basically be applied to every other scene similar to your own.

8. Not everyone will remain your best friend

If you didn’t already learn this Freshman year when saying bye to your high school pals, it will rapidly set in post-graduation. You’re no longer going to care about the minutiae of someone else’s life because yours will be filled with things other than Beer Pong Tournaments. The bubble of college is about widen -- there’s a world greater than the four posts of the Diag. Soon, that majority of your college relationships will exist solely on Facebook.

9. Joining clubs is fun

Unlike joining virtual clubs like #4, joining real live clubs is actually super enjoyable especially when you’re older. It’s a great way to resume the hobbies you put on hold while pursuing a degree in college. And contrary to what you thought when you were 22, meeting new people with like-minded interests is really refreshing.

10. Not going out is awesome

After an intense work-week, you’ll look forward to staying in on a Friday night and not having to pick out an outfit. We know this is going to come as a huge shock, but staying in to catch that 9 pm TV movie can feel like a huge accomplishment. And waking up without a hangover will give you a new perspective on life.

11. Love comes in all different varieties

It might seem like you can’t see yourself loving anyone outside of your immediate comfort-zone, but you’ll find that your heart has unexplored territory. There isn’t just one kind of love in this universe; there are many depths and shades that come with more developed understanding.

12. Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you always have to be mature

There’s a big fear and misconception that growing up means that there’s no time to be playful. When in fact, you’ll embrace being lighthearted because you realize that there’s no time to be too serious.

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