The Top 5 Best Things About Being Back at UMW

BY CHARLOTTA JARBORG

1. Honey Mustard at The Nest
All summer long you have been trying to find the perfect honey mustard to go with your chicken strips, nuggets, or anything deep-fried, and yet you find yourself daydreaming about that sticky yellow tube at the condiments stand . Sometimes you will stand in line and you cannot see that yellow Ambrosia and panic spreads through your body. What a waste of a tasty Nest snack. Now that we’re back; no need to keep searching. And now with the giant tub equipped with handy pump it seems our days of desperately mixing bear shaped honey containers with French’s mustard are finally gone.

2. No More Boring Daytime TV
Classes are actually excellent time-killers. Rather than having     to surf through the channels and settling for the latest gadget     being plugged on HSN, waiting for your prime time TV to kick     in, there is now something to do during the day. Plus, classes make you feel pretty productive; they are semi-social and fairly physically relaxing, if a little too academic.

3. Having Friends as Neighbors  Again
There is a reason Ace of Base’s song “Cruel Summer” was a hit. O.K., “hit” is a strong word, but the message is solid. The sad lyrics “Leaving me here on my own” often hit home during long breaks from school. Since summer break is basically as long a normal school semester and if being more than two minutes away from your friends makes you feel isolated and lonely, coming back to school is like coming home.

4. No Parents

They are great for love, support, cash, and room and board, but they also seem to think their opinions on everything from the time you go to bed, what you eat, what you are wearing, where you go and how many new glasses you use in a day, interest us. As much as we love them, it is liberating to escape from the running commentary and play-by-play of our own lives. If we wanted them to write our biographies, we would have asked.

5. Campus Life

Ever get the feeling that being on campus is sort of like being stuck in a bubble? That may be true, but there is something about 90% of your surrounding humans being of your age and having the same issues, habits, and interests as you. To us, there is nothing unwholesome about still wearing pajamas at midday, being awake and outside at four a.m. on a weekday or eating Fruit Loops for dinner. Campus is our playground and that is just how we roll.