And twenty other “childish” things that you don’t have to give up, even if you’re in college.
We’re all told that when we get to college we will have to “grow up”. That’s what we hear each and every time that we do something “childish and silly”—but fear not! Here at Her Campus, we’ve come up with a list of 21 things that may seem childish, but other college students will totally understand.
1. As the title says, I am still waiting for my Hogwarts letter. I will keep waiting, as will many of you, until my friends develop really nice penmanship, an envelope, and a wax seal and make one for me.
2. Enjoy your band poster—even if it’s the only poster that you like from that band and it’s probably from around 4 years ago. Still, enjoy it! Let that eye candy decorate your walls and remind you of that one song from that one time in that one place.
3. Skipping is a perfectly good mode of transportation. If you’re in the mood and your calves can handle it, go for it.
4. Prank wars and jump scares are still funny. If you challenge someone to a prank war, don’t worry about looking childish—just worry about setting up your next prank.
5. Pillow fights are still a thing. Standing in front of your roommate with both hands gripping the edges of your pillow is a challenge and should immediately be met with a full blown attack… and maybe a battle cry or two.
6. No Mom, I will not leave Mr. Fluffikins at home. Mother, he is not just some teddy bear! He has been with me since I was 5 and he dealt with me in my emo faze and he deserves to be in college!
7. Embrace your Pokémon card collection; do not let go of that original Ruby Red. Pokémon is just as cool now as it was before—you enjoy that Charizard and those gym badges until the very end!
8. So maybe trying to do a backflip with no previous experience while on concrete wasn’t your best idea, but you’re in your early twenties—shake it off, get it casted, and get back to trying out things that you’re totally unprepared to actually pull off. You’ll heal.
9. Continue to dream about what you want to be when you get older. Some of you could be in your final year of college and still undecided—that’s fine! We’re still young and therefore we have every right to dream about what we want to be when we grow up.
10. You can cry when you see the light shows at Disney. Not a soul will judge you. Be prepared for others to join you, though.
11. You can cry when you enter Harry Potter World at Universal. It’s your childhood story come to life. Enjoy it without worrying, please.
12. It is perfectly understandable to fight someone who tries to take your food. Your food is your food—your friends from high school know that. But the new college friends? Oh, maybe not yet, but they will learn.
13. You have every right to dance the moment you hear your song. “Hotline Bling” by Drake? Sure! “Thnks fr th mmrs” by Fall Out Boy? Absolutely! “Hot Potato” by the Wiggles? Well, maybe do that one in your room…
14. It is perfectly okay to be more excited about a free t-shirt or food than about a grade—even if it was that 98% that you got on your Chemistry test.
15.Panicking is natural. Lost your phone? Lost your keys? Lost your sense of determination to finish those last five questions on your math homework? Fret not, dear child. Everyone has been there and that panic doesn’t go away because you are at a new school. Someone will help, just ask.
16. You will have more speeches and wicked one-liners that you made up in the shower while thinking about a crazy scenario that will never happen than you will actual speeches in your classes.
17. If you see a group of pigeons, you have every right to go running straight through the middle of them.
18. Repeat after me: I will not be embarrassed that I just jumped from my bed, almost slammed into the wall and just barely avoided falling on my face in order to stop the microwave before it beeped.
19. “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back” is a saying that has haunted us since that one mean kid on the playground started taunting everyone with it. Avoiding the cracks one the sidewalk is second nature by now, even if you have to either shuffle your feet with baby steps or shuttle jump to the next square to dodge the cracks.
20. You had better bet that I am going to run—and probably vault— into my bed the moment that the lights are out. I have not lived long enough in this room to monster proof it, so I am not taking any chances.
21. Last but not least, feel free to stay up until ridiculous times in order to finish your new book. So what if you have class at 8am? It’s only 3- 4- uh 5…wait… when did it become 7:30?
These may not make it into a compilation of our most graceful moments, but they’re the moments that give us that carefree, oddly satisfied feeling that you seem to miss while doing anything else. Embrace them, enjoy them, and don’t be afraid of them! We’re all in the same boat here, so no one will judge you for enjoying yourself, even if that does mean that you get a little overexcited anytime you see an owl.