closing time: every new beginning starts with some other beginning's end

okay, so here it is; long awaited and overdue -- the list. this is my list of random things i've learned over the last three and a half years at liberty.

• teaching yourself an entire course the week before finals is a bad idea.
• the friends you make here will define who you become. choose wisely.
• don't date your freshman year. ever. just don't.
• life's too short to care what they think: have fun.
• take lots of pictures.
• skipping classes is a luxury only allotted to freshmen. and sometimes not even to them.
• remember that you are paying tens of thousands of dollars a year for an education. NOT to stalk boys in an "up and coming" garage band...that's illegal.
• always make sure your car is in reverse when you're backing up. always.
• never trust the kid playing guitar on the circle. he only actually knows two songs...it's like moths to a flame...
• never mix tests and all-nighters. neither you nor the test come off the better.
• take lots of road trips.
• sneak out after curfew at least once. just don't get caught.
• take pity on the nerds. they may one day return the favor.
• while it may work, flirting to get answers to homework questions is not always wise. a test paper will not take pity on you and fill itself out just because you've batted your eyelashes and dressed nicely...
• wearing heels on ice is not a good idea. do not attempt.
• you may be one of those who thinks all rules are for breaking. you've been misinformed. the only rules worth breaking are the ones with which you'd be making a point by breaking. it's one thing to make a point or minorly and without too much danger experiment with that one night you leave after curfew, but breaking dress code just makes you look stupid and irresponsible. we all know you had to have some form of brain activity to get this far in your education, so stop acting like a freshman. and if you're stupid enough to get caught breaking the rules, take it like a man and do your time. just stop whining about the fact that the strict and conservative CHRISTIAN university you chose to attend has rules. welcome to life. everywhere you'll ever go will have rules. life has rules. and life may not be as forgiving as your dean.
  
• make sure to skip class to play in the snow at least once. just also make sure it's not a day when something's due. or that your teacher doesn't see you leaving the building...
• take your classes seriously. you'll regret it later if you don't.
• on the other hand, make sure you don't take yourself too seriously.
• as the cheesy song says, "don't blink." four years goes by a lot faster than you'd think.