Now that I’m at uni, I don’t get what the hype was about

Remember being in primary school, seeing all of those older kids who just oozed class, sophistication and independence? Man did they make it look good.

The years of watching That’s So Raven and Lizzie McGuire on Disney Channel really sold high school to us. Don’t get me wrong, secondary school seemed hard but in retrospect GCSEs were just a warm up. Sixth form was the time to grow up and finally rule the school and we really felt like we made it. We were so ready for university but when we actually got there, we went from being the biggest in a fish bowl to the smallest in the Pacific Ocean. University was so hyped up and there was almost no way it could live up to its expectation.

We’re freshers now and university life is meant to feel like second nature. So why is that I find myself saying that I ‘can’t adult’ at least twice a day? I tried to get down to London for my best friend’s birthday celebrations, but of course, I missed the train. When I got on the next one, I spent a good five minutes explaining to a someone who I thought was the train conductor, but it turned out to be a random attractive man wearing a lanyard. Like I said – I just can’t seem to adult well. In all fairness I think transport in general is just complicated to navigate.

I’ve long since given up on trying to blag myself a child ticket on the bus, it’s too embarrassing to even try. Never did I think I would say this, but I miss being asked for ID before entering a 15 movie. We’re actually allowed to watch 18s now, when did that happen? Approaching my last year as a teen, I’m realising that it’s all happened too quickly.

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I want to be a kid again and fall asleep on the sofa with the assurance that I would wake up in my bed. The only time I ever get carried now is if I can convince someone that ‘I really don’t weigh that much’ and get a piggy bag home after a night out. But that doesn’t last long because they realise that I do in fact weigh that much and they firmly set me down again.

Where did the days go when my only piece of work was colouring in? Studying Law at university really isn’t all Legally Blonde made it out to be. The whole cooking for yourself thing has just left me hungry. All the time. That work-life balance thing people go on about? Yeah, can’t seem to do that either.

Most people have dry foods in their cupboards, I have six packets of Pot Noodle…

Where are the days when 69 was just a number and dad jokes were never a thing? Although we all know we’re way too mature to laugh at any of that now.

One more year, that’s all the ’97 kids have. Then we’re 20. We can’t be teens anymore. It’ll be fine though ‘if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere’ and if Alicia Keys says it, it must be true.