Senior year is weird. It’s a bizarre feeling to tell people that I’m a senior in college because I still feel like I literally just moved all my stuff  up three flights of stairs in Andrews for the first time.

The harsh reality of being a senior who is supposed to leave the bubble of Colgate in a year and enter the “real world” has definitely not fully sunken in yet. I’m glad, though, because I want to be able to cherish every last second I have as a student on this campus while I still can.

I think all of us here at Colgate take it for granted, at least a little. Sure, spending eight hours writing an essay in the library while begging underclassmen for meal swipes sucks. But if it was really that bad, then explain to me why so many students give Reslife ridiculous reasons to get back on campus a couple days early. There’s gotta be something about this college in the middle of nowhere that makes all of us love it so much.

For the first-years that just arrved on campus, the past couple weeks have undoubtedly been very overwhelming. Between adjusting to a college workload, being constantly herded to and from orientation stuff, and trying to actually be friends with their randomly-assigned roommate(s). first-years have so much stuff to do in so little time.

Once the excitement of orientation and move-in day subsides, though, then first-years can really start to explore Colgate. Our campus may be small, but there’s still a lot to do, see, and experience. Here’s a list of 13 (I’m the worst) things that every student should try to do before graduating from Colgate:

1. Steal a chipwich from the Office of Admission.

2. Go to a homecoming football game.

3. Pet President Casey’s dog, Emrys.

4. Get a birthday shoutout on the Jug’s Snapchat story.

5. Hit up Slices at 1:00 am on a Tuesday.

6. Get ticketed by Campo for parking up the hill.

7. Write an article for The Colgate Maroon-News, the oldest college weekly in America!

8. Slip on the tundra that is upstate New York.

9. Hit a Friday RIG buffet.

10. Play a round of golf at Seven Oaks.

11. Skip a class once the weather finally gets warm again.

12. Pull an all-nighter during SPW, culminating in a freezing dive into Taylor Lake.

13. Wish your friends a happy birthday while they’re giving a tour, even if it’s not their birthday!