Things that were cool as freshmen but not as seniors

In reality, the four years or more you will spend as an undergrad is a very short amount of time. However, a lot can change in those years. From improving your study habits, to learning how to control your alcohol, weight gain and loss (mostly gain), and for the unlucky few, early male pattern baldness.

One thing guaranteed to change is what was once considered cool and cool to do as a not-so-innocent freshman.

Frats

By senior year, most of us have wised-up and long abandoned the trek through fratland Thursday through Saturday nights. Parties are now focused on apartments and houses along with bars for the 21 and plus crowd.

Without the worry of being asked, “who do you know here?” or having to be a girl to get a lukewarm Natty Light, the hole that will burn in your wallet is so much better than having your fracket stolen or having your shoe come off from sticking to the frat floor. Unless you’re at the Phyrst.

High school bragging

While this was honestly never cool, it happened. Making the transition to college, a lot of us didn’t really have anything to talk about except where we’re from, where we went to high school, how popular we were, etc. Once you graduated, none of the mattered, just like the rest of what you did in school before now.

Now, most of your “best friends” from high school are no longer in the picture and you have made your real life-long friends through Penn State. Not being forced to spend every day with someone really has its perks in getting to know them better.

Making out with randos at every party

They say your freshman year is your year to experiment. Your classes are generally easier, you’re going out more and you’re kind of figuring life out. This ties to frats, where the most pervasive cases of random hook ups are occurring with the beat of some trashy EDM song.

By the time you’re a senior, you’ve figured out that not every Tom, Dick and Harry you think is hot needs to have your tongue shoved down their throat in front of a large crowd, because we all know no one really wants to see that.

Grinding

See above.

Careless social media

Your parents and teachers always warned you that what you do and say on the internet is there forever. And this is kind of true. By the time you’re a senior, your social media accounts, for the most part, are on lock down to prevent any future employer from seeing your reckless life, while the threat of past posts makes us seniors cringe with worry that anyone trying to hire our sorry asses will find it and have an excuse not to hire us.

As freshmen, it was funny to be able to retweet the stupid shit you and your friends got into, but trust me, it’s really not worth the retweets sharing every time you threw up in the local McDonald’s or dorm room.

Drinking Smirnoff Ice (or any shitty alcohol)

As a freshmen, the typical weekend diet involves some mixture of cheap liquor like Vlad or Calico combined with Natty Light or, god forbid, Smirnoff Ice. By the time you’re a senior, this habit should come to an end. While we’re all poor college students, this habit of drinking unpleasant alcoholic beverages to get your buzz should come to a halt.

Instead, invest in a slightly less shitty New Amsterdam, Captain Morgan or maybe even Miller Lite. While none of these compare to your parents’ liquor cabinets, they are much better than the alternatives of years past.

Buying Penn State gear from McLanahan’s

Almost every college student is decked out in his or her alma mater’s gear, but your style should be much broader than this. Buy clothing you actually enjoy and can wear in later years post graduation. The crop tops end after college… And if you do decide to buy Penn State gear, try out something like Lion’s Pride. They have great quality clothing for a higher price, but it lasts and looks great. Ask for it for Christmas, Hannukah, or your birthday.

Eating on campus (living on campus)

Living and eating on campus screams “freshman.” By the end of your sophomore year, at the latest, you should really gather a group of friends and explore downtown housing. There are so many options for a variety of price ranges, plus nothing is better than getting out of the dorms.

You should also stop eating the crap they provide on campus. While it’s convenient and almost necessary as a freshman and if you’re on campus all day, cooking is an important skill to have and so much healthier than the pizza and chicken fingers you’re consuming daily at the Big O.

Ride the loops everywhere

When you gained the infamous freshman 15 from munching on campus food and shitty liquor, the first reaction is to diet and get a gym membership. However, another healthy alternative is to get walking! While the Bloop and Whoop are convenient when you’re running late to your Soc 001 class from East Halls, walking is so easy on this campus.

You may think classes are far, nothing on this campus takes more than 20-25 minutes to walk to if you’re moving. Plus, you can easily walk two-five miles a day and it’s an easy alternative to the gym, which let’s be honest, you never should’ve bought a membership for in the first place considering how much use you’ve gotten out of it the past three years.

Not having a job

Don’t get me wrong, living off your parents’ free money is amazing. It makes life so much easier. However, this really should end. Your parents shouldn’t be supporting your drinking or eating habits. While your grades should take priority, getting a job teaches important time-management skills and can be extremely beneficial to your future. Employers love seeing students who supported themselves through college, they eat that shit up. Plus, having your own source of income is a great feeling.