This weekend I took a trip to Binghamton University with one of my best friends, Jessica Brenner. We came to visit her good friend Ariana Altman, who is a freshman at Bing. I was so excited, and I finally got to experience what college is really like (kind of) for the three days we were there. 

The drive from Emerson to Bing is about three hours, not bad at all. The campus is so pretty with its tall trees, green lawns, and interesting layout. I took one look and I knew for a fact I was going to have a good time.

Walking into the dorm rooms and seeing how everything is set up was amazing. I expected the rooms to be smaller than they were.  We were actually able to fit two twin air mattresses with extra room  – which I thought was insane because I thought dorms would be WAY smaller.

Ariana explained how the bathroom situation is communal. When thinking of communal bathrooms you think of a big room with toilets and showers, but it is nothing like that at Bing. Six dorm neighbors share two bathrooms and two showers.  That’s manageable, right?

Again, thinking about communal bathrooms, you probably think of filth, but there it is totally different. It is clean and sanitary.  Bathrooms are a basic aspect of college life, but they’re definitely an important one.

While it was cool to see Ariana’s dorm’s set up, I was a little nervous (but also excited). I was scared that the girls there would be mean, or that I would hate college. I was wrong.  Everyone I met there was so nice and sweet. 

Now that I’ve actually stepped foot on a campus, and have gotten some of the experience, I can safely say I LOVE COLLEGE. 

Let me tell you why.

You have so much down time to do work and to just hang out and chill. It’s nice because you have your own freedom. You don’t have people telling you when to wake up or when to go to bed. It’s the best and the toughest part. 

Many people I met told me that a lot of people struggle because they’re trying to take care of all of their responsibilities. I think that, after coming here and seeing everything, the most important takeaway is that time management matters. If you can’t manage your time, then you’re going to fall behind. 

During the day on Saturday at Bing, all we did was homework, but it was honestly very relaxing. I thought I was going to be bored when Jessica told me we were going to be doing homework during the day, and not be walking around seeing things. It wasn’t so bad.  Even though Saturday didn’t go how I thought it was going to go, I truly had a really good time just sitting in the common area doing work. 

Another college perk?  I can’t wait to feel like an adult and be able to learn about things that I’m actually interested in. Imagine!

Everyone should get a feel for what college is really like before they go. This trip was very helpful and informational for me and my plans for college. I’m very fortunate that I was able to go with Jessica to visit her friend for the weekend. It was good to see how I will be living for the next four years. 

When I asked Jessica how she thought the trip was she answered, “I had an amazing time! I loved being able to see Ariana since I haven’t seen her in a long time, and overall it was just super fun!”

I agreed.  I had a good time too.  A really good time.

Did I mention that I LOVE COLLEGE?