#5thyearlife

It’s sincerely strange coming back after your cohort has graduated. Besides suddenly feeling just slightly that much older, there is a subtle yet important change in social norms. Suddenly the formerly acceptable just isn’t, and with your victory lap badge comes an sudden new set of DO NOT’s I have outlined below.

1. Asking for directions: Apparently if you look older then the majority of the class this is a big “no no.” Taken from the experience of the perpetually lost.

2. Being that kid in class: So by now you’ve likely figured out that kissing your professors ass is not going to get you an A+. So being that guy not only makes you seem like the “old kid smartass” who won’t get invited to the class study group, but makes you the dreaded "that guy". You know that guy who has so many questions he/she holds the rest of the class up for lunch. [Hopefully the kid in the second row of my Imin 371 class from last semester is reading this now]. In addition this usually pisses off the professor so lets keep it at a 2 question minimum.

3. Binge drinking your paycheck away: A friend and I had the experience the other night where we walked into a club and realized we were the oldest people in there. And hey, this isn’t saying I’m old… it’s just saying I am older than the majority of students at the on campus bar. However at this point 7 rounds of tequila shots on the shot ski, isn’t the party life of the undergrad…. its probably the reason why some of you are on the victory lap and may suggest a serious problem. *Joking* I am not one to judge other people by their vices, I understand not all of us don’t hang out with our cats on Friday nights like yours truly. But generally, there is a sincere sense of professionalism amongst the seniors students, which you can’t argue is a bad thing we’ve been through the trenches had our fun (some of us more than others) and have that genuine desire to learn.

4. Wearing full university gear to your senior classes: The fad and excitement of starting university had ended… put away the green and gold varsity sweatpants kidlets and buy a pair of dress pants.

5. Hitting on First Years: Ah, the glorious fall when fresh meat is now available for your cougar like self on campus. However I came to the realization the other day that not only are the acne filled faces of first year students completely not what I want in a man, but frankly had all went to planned in life that I would have been TA’ing them this semester. Which suddenly made hitting on them just that much more inappropriate, actually it made hitting on anyone below a 3rd year status just that much more inappropriate. But don’t fear my fellow single 5th year friends dawning the prime of our 20’s, we have now entered the potential dating range and interest of the wait for it…. the graduate, and professional students. Who wants a “pre-med, pre-law, or pre-dentistry” when you can have the real deal… just saying, flirt away. As long as you know they aren’t your TA.

Anyways speaking of school, I really need to be getting back to that. Study break is over.