7 (Weird But Worthwhile) Lessons I Learned in College

I just graduated college.

(DAMN—saying that out loud leaves a bad taste in my mouth)

The past four years have been an absolute whirlwind. Looking back, I never would have foreseen the amount of change (both good and bad) that took place between touring campus on freshman orientation and crossing the stage on graduation day to receive my diploma.

Of course I learned a lot in the classroom but in all honesty, classroom learning is more of a high school thing.

“College knowledge” is an entirely different aspect of learning.

It has less to do with paradigms and parallelograms, and more to do with habit-building and personal growth.

That said, here are 7 weird but worthwhile lessons I learned in college:

1.) Sunny days work just like snow days.

I was never one to skip class… if the forecast was under 75 and sunny.

Think back to all of those super sunny days in high school when all you did was long for the 3 o’clock bell to ring, wishing you could be outside enjoying the day with your friends.

College is the time to redeem yourself.

Sorry to all the parents of college kids out there but here is some really important advice:

If it’s really really nice outside, unless you absolutely have to be at class, do yourself a favor, and skip.

Some of my best memories at school were made on the days I should have been sitting in a classroom.

Never again for the rest of your life will there be a four-year period away from parents, surrounded by your closest friends, with no virtually no (real) obligations.

Go enjoy the day with your friends. Blast music outside, even after the neighbors complain. Take a day trip to the closest city and do something you’ve never done before.

Don’t confine yourself to a tiny desk to learn about a something your professor is probably going to put online anyway.

Go make some memories for cryin’ out loud.

2.) Holy sh*t, how did my mom keep the house clean?!

For the latter half of my college experience, I lived in a college house with four other housemates.

Growing up in a family of five, with parents who emphasized tidiness, I never realized how much work went into keeping things clean.

To my mom and dad: Wow. Just wow. I’m so sorry for all of the times I didn’t pick up after myself growing up. I now understand your pain.

Living in a college house with five guys is just as fun as it is gross.

We had mysterious wall stains with absolutely no explanation as to how they got there.

Our refrigerator had an unexplained stickiness that never went away, regardless of how often we tried to clean it (probably not often—but still).

I made visitors sign a waiver before using our bathroom.

Judge us if you will—it is what it is—but we had a consistent mountain of food-stained plates stacked in the sink passed eye-level. Our outside garbage cans fostered a diverse community of rodents and insects alike. If you walked around the house without shoes or socks, it was almost a guarantee you’d end up with a sliver of glass in the bottom of your foot.

The only possible positive I can pull from living in an utter pigs stye, is that our petri-dish of a home helped strengthen my immune system.

Other than that, college taught me how much of an effort it is to stay clean.

3.) I’m more productive when I’m busy; I’m lazy with an open schedule.

Seven out of my 8 semesters at college were jam-packed with two things: sports and school.

Football is a fall sport, so the only semester I didn’t have any athletic obligations was my last one. What I realized, was that my productivity went waaaaay down after football ended.

Maybe it was excitement to graduate. Maybe it was ‘senior-itis’. Maybe it was all of those sunny days we had.

Regardless, the fewer obligations I have, the less productive I become.

I got my best grades while simultaneously working an 18-credit school schedule, dedicating 35+ hours per week to football (not including game days), and spending 10+ hours per week interning at Digital Press.

I came to the realization that when I have less to do, I have less of a desire to get things done. I thrive in a busy environment—it’s where I’m most productive, efficient, and happiest.

This isn’t the same for everyone. Some people exhaust themselves with a tight schedule. Some over-stress, and burn out.

But for me?

That’s where I thrive.

4.) How to put out oven fires.

I hope my landlord doesn’t read this but…

7 times. On 7 different occasions I started a fire in our oven.

I’m not sure if this is the right way to put out oven fires, or if this follows any sort of safety protocol whatsoever, but here’s how I did it, every time:

• Frantically run around the kitchen in utter panic.
• Open the oven door, take a deep breath, begin blowing on fire.
• Realize that the above step was a complete waste of time and arguably made things worse.
• Open the cabinet where you keep your cups, only to realize there aren’t any cups in there—all of them are in the sink (dirty).
• Grab a bowl instead.
• Fill the bowl with water, toss it directly into the oven.
• Repeat until the fire goes out.

Like I said, I have no idea if this is the proper way to stop an oven fire, but it worked for me.

5.) How to cook (even after oven fires).

One thing that most college students agree on, regardless of where they spend their four years, is this:

Cafeteria food sucks.

After sophomore year when I moved off campus, I vowed never again to return to the dreaded cafeteria, and took up cooking on my own.

For two years straight, I cooked myself breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.

Starting out, it was pretty tough.

I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t have to burn full meals to a crisp, or that I didn’t spend nights on the toilet as a result of undercooked chicken. But in time, I was able to conquer the kitchen and master a handful of meals.

Three of my favorite go-to’s were:

• Sweet potato breakfast hash (my personal favorite)
• Chicken and white rice stir fry
• Spicy ground-beef lettuce wraps

Being able to cook is probably the most under-appreciated skill I learned in college. It’s pretty sad, but the majority of people my age couldn’t cook a pot of rice if their life depended on it.

It’s nice being able to look at a batch of ingredients and turn it into a delicious meal.

6.) Doing your chores is way better with music.

Probably something you already know, but if you don’t, jamming out to some funky tunes is a great way to pass the time during chores.

Some of my favorite albums I listened to in college while folding my laundry or meal-prepping were Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Anderson .Paak’s Malibu, and Isaiah Rashad’s The Sun’s Tirade.

On days we had major house cleans (aka the night before someone’s parents came into town) we would jam out to Michael Jackson essentials.

All-in-all, life is better with music.

7.) Bonfires > Bar Nights

I’ll probably catch a lot of heat for this one, but that’ll just add more fuel to my fire.

My bonfire, that is.

(My best attempt at an awful pun—I think it landed… no?)

Anyway, some of my most memorable college nights were not out at overcrowded bars getting hammered off of $5 pitchers, arguing about who’s going to pay for an Uber home.

My fondest memories involve sitting in our backyard on Barrington road around a bonfire with the people I cared about most.

Before going to college, there is this preconceived notion that in order to make the most of your time, you need to go out every chance you get.

This couldn’t be more wrong.

Half of the time spent at the bars nowadays is filled with bullshit small talk with people you have nothing in common with, half spent taking and re-taking pictures to post on your Instagram story.

To make the most out of your college experience, do what you actually want to do.

If you don’t feel like going out—don’t!

Grab a 6-pack, a speaker, some of your closest friends and chill out.

Put the phones away for a few hours and have real conversations with the people that matter to you most.