The major differences between a freshman and a senior at Tech

For starters, you’ve ditched the lanyard

Everyone says college is the time of your life. It is where you become yourself and you will never have another experience like the one of being in college. From the time you’re “fresh meat” to when you catch senioritis, you evolve as a person is multiple ways.

You finally have your own space

There is nothing more satisfying than signing a lease for your very own apartment and knowing that you won’t have to share a room anymore. Making it out of Pritchard or Slusher is the single greatest accomplishment a Hokie can make. No more nasty common bathrooms or walking in on your roommate doing questionable things in your shared space. The only drawback is, West End and Hokie Grill aren’t outside your door and you have to do the unthinkable- cook for yourself.

The football games change

One of the biggest things in Tech is football, of course. It is like a right of passage for freshmen to go to their first football game and finally be able to jump to Enter Sandman. But by the time you’re a senior, you either don’t make it to the game because you tailgated too hard or you get to Lane totally drunk and you have to focus on not dying, or getting arrested.

Your outfits change

Most freshmen are decked out in Hokie gear 24/7 (don’t forget that Hokie P lanyard). By the time you reach the senioritis phase, it’s sweatpants and t-shirts and wondering why you scheduled a class on campus instead of an online class. Make no mistake, you can dress up when the time calls for it, like Happy Hour.

House parties are a thing of the past

Remember freshman year waiting for the drunk bus to pick you up from PRC? Well, the minute you turn 21, you start to realize how overrated, packed and annoying house parties are. Finally, you can go to Happy Hour downtown every single day of the week. In fact, you’ve become an expert – you know exactly when Sharkey’s has $3 Long Island and when El Rod’s Jumbo Texan special is. Sure, your wallet (and liver) takes a hit, but at least it’s less crowded than house parties.

You gain family

Coming into Tech, there were so many events and activities designed for you to meet as many people as possible. Orientation, Hokie camp, fall visitation, and so on. Thus, as a freshman you had a lot of acquaintances, but not necessarily friends. There may be a lot of petty drama in your first years because the friendships aren’t mature yet. But by senior year, you and your friends have been through a lot together and they transform into your family. They are the ones that were there for you when TOTS got the best of you and they will still be there even after you gradate and move to different states.

You realize you’re an adult

Freshman tend not to worry too much about the future. And why should they? It’s not a reality to them yet. It’s all about new experiences, discovering Blacksburg, getting fakes, making friends, and having fun. But seniors have no choice but to worry. All of a sudden, the crap hits the fan in senior year and you come to terms with the fact that you’re about to be a real boy/girl in the real world. Now, you have to start looking for a job, make plans to move back home, or come to terms with being a townie for the rest of your life.

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