My time as an undergrad is rapidly nearing its end… yikes! In the spirit of the insane things that have happened the last 4 years, I thought I’d start a list of the good (and not so good) things I’ve learned… within reason, of course 
- Pick a school you love. If you don’t love it, transfer! It’s your home for the next four years.
Oski! Go Bears!
- Living on your own is great, except for having to cook, clean, do laundry, and pay bills on your own
- PGE requires an ungodly deposit every time you open an account at a new residence
- Comcast will make you want to hurt someone. Repeatedly. Particularly when you find out how expensive they are!
- Ramen noodles are God’s gift to college students.
- Rainboots are a necessity in NorCal.
- Hella is not, contrary to popular belief, a word!
- Ikea is amazing. The end.
- Target is almost as amazing as Ikea.
- Cooking for yourself means lots of leftovers.
We had LOTS of leftovers from making gingerbread houses!
- Parallel parking (on the right side of the street) isn’t SO awful in a Corolla. With a bigger car and/or on the left side of the street… all bets are off.
- The city of Berkeley’s meter maids are pure evil.
- Job hunting sucks.
- Resume and cover letter writing suck as well.
- Sadly, the above 2 are necessary evils!
- Facebook is the best procrastination tool, second only to Chatroulette (or Stumbleupon)
- If you don’t remember what you did last night, go on Facebook. There will be pictures.
Embarrassing pictures like this...
- If you don’t remember what you did last night, check your sent text messages.
- Being under the influence + any form of social media (or phone) = bad news.
- Bring toilet paper in your purse to bars and frats.
- Wear flip flops if walking to your destination, put your heels on right before you enter. Your feet will thank you.
- Ants are indestructible. And they keep coming back. Ant tins are good though!
- If you’re nerdy, be nerdy. It’s ok. You’ll find people who love you for it.
- Game Days are amazing and one of the few things in college that I will truly miss.
Emerald Bowl, 2008!
- Common sense is, sadly, not so common.
- Make friends if you know you’ll be moving, because moving solo is awful (particularly when there’s furniture moving involved!)
- Living with roommates off of Craigslist can be great (love you, Robin!) or the worst experience ever… it’s definitely hit or miss.
- Adopting a pet is one of the most rewarding experiences ever.
- Join clubs and groups early. Network early and often. It’ll pay off.
Rally Comm... my life for freshman year!
- Get to know your professors in office hours. Don’t be scared of them, they’re people too! (Just very smart people, is all…)
- Always spellcheck papers before turning them in.
- If you ever want to work for Facebook, consider never going out/doing embarrassing things that will be preserved on film. Despite your profile settings, Facebook can still see them!
- Tutoring athletes is trying, but can be very very rewarding. I suppose that goes for all kinds of tutoring.
- Take classes you enjoy, even if it means you have to do your requirements during the summer. Give yourself time to experiment before locking into a major. Otherwise, you’ll start with one (English), add a second (Linguistics), then drop the second and add a third your senior year (American Studies)!
- Having a car is a blessing if you can afford it… it makes grocery shopping, laundry, and Target/Ikea runs so much easier.
- Not having internet is not an option.
- Yelp is a great resource, as is Craigslist.
- College boys are silly. I’ve decided that dating in college is largely a wash.
- People in general can be silly. It’s important to surround yourself with good people who will add to your life, not detract from it.
- Getting sick– especially serious things, like gallstones– can be really tough when you’re away from home.
- Blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter are awesome for creating networks of people outside of school, especially if you ever go to meetups/conferences or move somewhere you’ve been talking to people!
- Online dating is… interesting. Very hit or miss, mostly miss. There are some weiiiird people out there!
- It’s ok to be a tourist in your own town. You discover things you pass by during your day-to-day routines.
become a tourist... you'll see things like this!
- In the real world, you can’t wear sweats in public!
- Showering/grooming/putting on makeup is not overrated (this is a particularly Berkeley thing)
- Take advantage of free trips and events. Going on the Birthright trip to Israel was absolutely amazing.
Jerusalem, Summer 2008
- If time/your major permits it, study abroad!
- Be nice to people in your classes. You might meet some of your best friends that way!
And remember, always wear sunscreen
