On Getting Older- Mada

In a lot of ways Sophomore year is exactly the same for me as freshman year was. I live in a dorm, I still have no idea what to say when people ask why I'm a math major and I still don't know how to shotgun a beer. Despite these similarities, I still look at the freshman in my dorm with kind of an "aw, look at them go", condescending type of look. Why is it that I feel so different from them even though I am basically in the exact same situation?

I guess the biggest difference is the lack of stress. I'm not saying I have U of I all figured our but I know what to expect much more than a freshman does. I know that I don't need to have all my books before my first day of classes. I know I should take advantage of syllabus week while it's here because this is the most relaxing time of the semester. I know where most of the buildings are and more importantly I know how to look them up efficiently. I know that frats are boring but music shows aren't. Basically, I just have a level of comfort on campus that comes with familiarity.

I know that a lot of these freshman are smarter, prettier, more driven and better connected than I will ever be but I still feel a twinge of superiority over them. I scoff a bit when I see them walking around buried in their maps. I know it's dumb and immature but I guess at 19 I still have enough of high school Mada left to believe that being a couple months older makes me cooler and wiser.

I'm sure I will lose this notion for the most part as the school year goes on. U of I has a way of beating the freshman out of you in a few weeks. I think I changed more in the first two months of college than any other year of school. Hopefully as they change, so will my outlook on younger students, but for now I will still laugh a little bit whenever I see someone completely lost on the quad.