Well, the two-day Hellathon is over. 3 written finals within two days of each other? Two of them the hardest tests I had to take this semester? It was not a pretty sight, but it's over. I did my best and I'm fairly certain I did pretty well. I beat Critical into a pulp, then I riverdanced on its grave wearing cleats, that much I'm sure of.

Despite the stress and unnecessary drama, the year's been a good one and worthwhile. It obviously hasn't all been rosy (I'm trying to stop looking at past events as though everything was perfect) but I've learned a lot this year, both from people and from profs (yes, there is a distinction between the two) and I'm quite content and happy now. I'm also glad to be going back home. I shall miss the District and all it's inhabitants, but I also miss my Yorkers, the fun times and memories we share. Furthermore, my brain needs to diiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee. I just want to get a meaningless job, relax and have fun this summer. No thought required. Just ability to function as a normal human being.

But before the brain deterioration sets in...let's go ahead and list out things I've learned this year (who knows? Perhaps it will help those who read this who have not yet left for college...maybe not. The experience is different for everyone. Maybe it'll make you chuckle, maybe not, but it's all things I have discovered to be ridiculously true).

Rule No. 1: You're going to get locked out of your room. A lot. At least one of these times you will be forced to schlepp downstairs in a towel after a shower. It's not that big of a deal. It happens to everyone.
2: The first few weeks are going to be hard. You're going to be desperate for friends. The people you hang out with the first weekend will probably not be the people you hug good bye at the end of the year.
3: You're probably going to make at least one or two friendships that are not meant to last. Once again, you're starved for friends and in a completely alien environment. It's natural and normal, accept fate and move on with your life.
4: No matter what you do, no matter how good your communcation with your roommate is, he/she is going to come home at a very odd hour indeed and catch you at a very inopportune moment. Thus goes life.
5: No matter how good about getting your work done in advance in high school, no matter how much you SWEAR YOU'RE GOING TO CHANGE, you will end up writing a 20 page paper due entirely the weekend before it's due.
6: Aforementioned weekend will become known as "The Weekend of DEATH"
7: People, when they get pissed at you, actually will de-facebook you, take you off their LJ friends list, remove you from their AIM list and the like. It may seem ridiculous and childish, but that's life. It happens.
8: Fire alarms suck. But they build character. Nothing tests a person's resistance to the temptation of murdering everyone with in a 2 block vicinity like being awoken at 4am by a screeching fire alarm. (Yes, I say this as a north sider who has had a grand total of 3 alarms).
9: Profs actually aren't evil (most of them). They assign so much homework because they honestly believe that their area of expertise matters as much to you as it does to them. (I think this is a bit of a lie...but I need to keep believing in it so that I can sleep at night...there's just no other explanation).
10: There will be something you get so excited about studying that you just have to email your prof at 4 in the morning to bounce ideas off of him/her. The prof will love this and praise you for your enthusiasm, not mock your insanity.
11: Beware viruses. They will haunt your soul and destroy your memory (literally).
12: You're going to change. A lot. Some of the changes will be for the better, some for the worst. All of these changes are fundamental to your evolution as a human being.
13: When you have your first nervous breakdown (and you will have one) don't second guess yourself. Think about what you need to do to make yourself better (whether that be calling a friend or curling up in your bed crying) and do it. No second thoughts.
14: If you're going to school where it snows, steal trays from your cafeteria and go sledding.
15: Something that you hold very near and dear to your heart, some sort of ideology, is going to change. Drastically or not, remember: change is good and necessary, it's the fear of change and refusal to change that's bad.
16: You will talk about random things with your friends at 3am. You will theorize on how to destroy or save the world.

Well, there are my trinkets of wisdom (or lack thereof). Good bye my dear District, good bye dearest friends, I will see you in August. At which point I hopefully will regain some sanity.