8 Ways University Is Just Like Preschool

You’re reached eighteen and are now finally considered an adult, and you are entering university feeling all grown up and ready to start a new chapter of your life. But if you expected mature conversations and adult behaviours, wait until you realise that university is just like kindergarten … or worse!

1) You would rather be anywhere but the classroom

It is common knowledge, the average human being doesn’t enjoy staying seated for hours while listening to a boring teacher, and that is true if you are 5 or 20. You keep thinking about ALL the other things way cooler and more interesting you could be doing instead, even if the type of activities differs – jumping in a pond or straight back to bed might have a different appeal according to your age (actually… both sounds pretty awesome).

2) Your BFF’s are everything

No matter your age, your friends are the people that stand by you during happy and sad times, and they make everything better and funnier. You tell them all your secrets, and you share good times laughing and messing around; playing games, listening to foolish songs, bursting into laughter for absolutely no reason, complaining about teachers and homework, making funny faces… it never gets old!

3) You have completely immature conversations

You would think that becoming an adult and going to university to get a degree and prepare your future life would mean you would have captivating conversations about world poverty, why Brexit is going to affect the exchange rates for imports and how the global free trade impacts business. How wrong!

Throughout the years, the same existential debates and questions still exist such as: why are goldfishes orange? How much milk is there in the Milky Way? Do you put the cereal first, or the milk? If an orange is orange, why isn’t a lime called a green, and a lemon called a yellow? You can spend hours arguing, but still have no clue about the answer.

4) You cry for your mother

You used to cry out for your mommy to come and comfort you when you were scared, sad or had a nightmare, and she would hug you and sing a song to make you feel better. Now, even though you’re in university, you realise how much you miss her and that taking comfort from ice-cream, wine and Netflix isn’t nearly as good as a motherly embrace.

Besides, you might be an adult, but you always relish having homemade dinner and the laundry done!

5) Snacks are an absolute must

After a long day learning and absorbing knowledge like a sponge, a little (or big) snack is essential to get you going: cookies, chocolate bars, granola, lollipops or peanut butter, anything sweet really!

And if you don’t get your treat, you still get really upset, sulk for an hour in a corner and maybe even cry. Woe betide anyone who dares mocking you; you’ll tell your mommy!

6) Nap times

As a pre-schooler, we all hated those afternoon naps, and we wanted to keep playing. But they were a routine told by our parents and teachers, so we would comply and have our daily rest time. Now that you are in university, naps became essential for you mental sanity and to nurture your busy social life. You would give anything to sleep all afternoon and not having to go to a class after a long night out – who said naps

Now that you are in university, naps became essential for you mental sanity and to nurture your busy social life. You would give anything to sleep all afternoon and not having to go to a class after a long night out – who said naps were only for kids?

7) Dressing up

Whether it is for Halloween, a birthday or a themed party, dressing up is always fun! You get to be a princess, a pirate, a superhero, a cowboy or whatever you want for a night, and show off your creative skills. Besides, you always end up having a great time, making some everlasting memories, and some pretty cool pictures.

8) In the end, it’s pretty fun

You might have moments during your time in pre-school and in university when you are unhappy and cannot wait to be done. But as you start the next chapter of your life and look back on what you have learned and how you have grown and became the person you are, you realise something very important: damn it, you sure gonna miss it!!

Romane graduated from Kingston University with a degree in Film Studies and Business. A lover of writing, she enjoys writing screenplays, poetry, stories and now articles for the Inspiring Interns blog. You can connect with her on LinkedIn here. 

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