8 x things we long for from our student life
Pfff, how I sometimes long for my carefree student life. Although I did find that I had quite a tough time with things back then. At which party do the coolest guys come? Is there a lecture today or not? Cooking or getting fries? Yes, those were real problems. But well, I will probably laugh at this current complaining version of myself in ten years. It also sounds like my student days took place a hundred years ago, but I was just studying three years ago. Still, it feels like a completely different life. Back then, I lived with my three best friends (a true girl’s dream) and had to go to school, now I live with my boyfriend and dog and suddenly have a ‘grown-up job.’ Well, that’s quite a difference.
This article is therefore a small ode to student life, especially to the things I miss the most. You will surely recognize a lot of it.
1. Student finance
Wow, what a great time this was, right? Every month you received some pocket money from DUO, which you could use to pay for shots in the club besides your rent. Somehow, you managed quite well with this every month. I must say that I was lucky to be just in the last year of the good arrangement before student finance suddenly changed to a loan system. Aside from the student finance, it also became quite cool to borrow extra money from DUO halfway through the study. In fact: you encouraged each other to do so, so you could go on vacation together. Those were the days. The repayment is a bit less fun, of course.
2. Pesto pasta
Suddenly, you had to start cooking for yourself. After quite a bit of experimenting and especially exchanging recipes with other experienced students, you often had a good list of dishes. Pesto pasta was one of them. Super simple and mega delicious. Of course, no vegetables or anything on the side, just a bag of pasta and a jar of ready-made pesto. Pizza from the oven was also a hit, and pancakes from Koopmans or fries from the snack bar could also easily be had twice a week. No wonder I managed with my money: all these meals cost nothing and the concern for enough vitamins and minerals didn’t exist back then.
3. Sleep whenever you want
I think I enjoyed this the most when I just moved into my room. Just being able to sleep in the middle of the day, without your dad or mom asking why you are doing that. You stopped going to lectures after two months anyway, so that meant more time for sleeping in and power naps. Even better: lectures that you could watch back on your laptop, then there was really no reason to go to school anymore. Suddenly, you had oceans of time. Halfway through my studies, I also decided to just work during all those lectures since I wasn’t learning much anyway. Add that to your student finance and I was suddenly rich. Golden times.
4. Clothing exchange
I think I miss this the most at the moment. I lived with three friends who all had a fantastic wardrobe. Everything, and I mean everything, we exchanged with each other. Absolutely great, so you never had to worry about outfits, you always found something nice in each other’s closet. I still remember lending my (just new) high knee boots to my friend, who returned them completely vomited on the next day. Well, that’s just how things went, you couldn’t get mad about that because you wanted to borrow a top again that evening.
5. Karaoke in the living room
Our house had become a sort of clubhouse. Everyone always gathered at our place before we went to a club. There were also quite a few parties at home, much to the annoyance of the downstairs neighbors who eventually even moved because of our noise. The last straw was the karaoke set we had bought for our living room. I now understand that this really isn’t acceptable. I would go crazy if my neighbors suddenly sang karaoke every day.
6. Going out every night or movie night
During the week, we often had a movie night at home, with of course kilos of popcorn and candy. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were the going-out nights, and for each night there was a different club or bar you had to be at. The other nights were for watching movies together on the couch. How cozy was that actually?
7. Coming home drunk together
Ah, this was also so much fun. Going out together and coming home together, including a stop at McDonald's, of course. Or even better: when you came home drunk alone and one of your housemates was sitting at the kitchen table in the same state. Then you made toast together or ordered pizza. By the way, we also had quite a long staircase in our house, I think we all fell down it at least once.
8. Not thinking about anything
Finally, I miss all the impulsive actions from my student days. You had so much free time and so few responsibilities that you were always up for something. And the fun of living with friends: there were plenty of victims to trick. Or you got tricked yourself and suddenly found yourself on the bar in HotShots on a Tuesday night. It was a wonderful, absurd, and quite unrealistic time, which felt just as childish as high school. But man, how I sometimes wish I could go back for just a moment. I will cherish the memories forever.
