The sirens blared, the horns honked and the whistles ... whistled.
I sat up in my tower like an apathetic damsel waiting to be rescued. I wasn't trapped by a natural disaster or a fire-breathing dragon. I was just trying to practice for the LSAT in my room while the Homecoming parade was going on down below.
"Dear lord," I thought to myself. "Is this what I've become?" Am I doomed to be this curmudgeon for the rest of time, yelling at parade-goers to take their revelry and good spirits elsewhere?
Although I'm a sensible beacon of guidance in most cases, I've always been down for a good time, even in high school when everyone thought I was stuck-up and boring because I liked the smell of old books. I'll be frank here: I like to party. I get crazy, and years of gymnastics mean I can do keg stands like a champ. And if you even dared challenge me to a boat race, I would destroy everything in my path, including your self-esteem and manhood.
But lately I've been feeling the creeping onslaught of adulthood, complete with one-a-day vitamins and taking the stairs over the elevator. The other day, I opted for Starbucks oatmeal for breakfast instead of my usual bowl of nothing. I realized that oatmeal is the summation of adulthood: Once you scrape past the initial sugary-sweet layer of grandeur, it instantly nosedives into bland, mushy disappointment.
I instantly regretted the $2.60 investment when I could have just bought Cini-minis for half the price and twice the sugar.
Undergraduates are at that time right now when they're generally trying to find themselves in that young-adult-fiction sort of way. Especially if this is your last year, you're grappling between applying to graduate and professional school or preparing to bite the bullet of the "real world." Either way, it's a brutal and unforgiving road, and one that should not be tread on with the same attitude you have when forgetting about your online classes.
However, the key to success in these vital decisions and preparations is to not lose sight of who you are and why you're embracing this newfound responsibility in the first place.
Make time for at least one thing you're passionate about, like writing or dancing. Stay in touch with your friends because they're going through the same things you are, and their company can help you stay off the crazy train. The librarians at Marston or Club West do not count as friends.
If you go into things with an I-have-to-because-that's-the-adult-thing-to-do attitude, you'll instantly resent it or just find excuses not to. So don't start going to the gym because you think that's what you should be doing. Go because you genuinely feel like you'll gain something from it, like a healthier lifestyle or a hot date.
Study for the GRE because getting a good score will make you feel good about the hard work you've invested, and getting into a grad program that you've been shooting for will make you happy. Pay your utility bill on time because having electricity will make you really happy.
Adulthood doesn't have to mean sitting alone in business-casual dress during your lunch hour at work wondering what became of your happy-go-lucky former self. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go solve these logic games.
Don't worry, I went to Gator Growl after.
Sara Solano is a journalism senior at UF.
