After watching Pitch Perfect in my senior year of high school, I felt like Hollywood had equipped me perfectly for the next four years of college, a.k.a. the best years of my life. I was not coming just for the education, but for the whole experience: THE university experience. It did not take long before I realized life at Western wasn’t anything like the movies. Here are the top 5 reasons why:
1. Parties don’t usually end up with someone falling in a pool
Student houses rarely have air conditioning, so chances are they don’t have the luxury of a pool to fall into either. Instead, there are a lot of sweaty people and very little space.
2. You actually have to work hard to play hard
It seemed Blair Waldorf had all the time in the world to go shopping during her very limited time at NYU. Yet I wish you luck trying to find a seat at Weldon during exam season or catching a bus to campus at 9:30 in the morning. In real life, students spend at least half of their time hunched over a laptop, dressed in a hoodie (a far cry from Blair’s straight-out-of-Vogue outfits).
3. It’s not the Greeks vs everybody else
Don’t let Sydney White and Neighbours fool you: social life extends beyond frat parties. Everybody gets along, and there are no feuds on campus. Anyone could experience Greek life, and its benefits, if they choose to.
4. No one has an endless supply of money
Pretty much everyone is broke. Textbooks, food and rent pretty much clean out your bank account. Yet somehow, in times of need, there still magically remains enough money for alcohol… but there’s a reason that the most popular bar in town sells $1 beers.
5. College is the best four years of your life
Wait… that part is true! Make every moment count because soon enough you’ll be graduating and wondering where the time went. Make your own movie.