1. Big Gulps from 7-11 are an absolute Gem
I had never even heard of a Big Gulp before living in the city. How? I have no idea. But Big Gulps are absolutely life changing. During the 1st week, after being put into hotel rooms as we had no running water in our dorms, I discovered Big Gulps. I had ended up staying in the same
room as my roommate T, as I’ll refer to her as. We had been out our 1st week and went to a NYC Welcome Week party, what a scam. There's another little lesson for you. If you go to school in the city don’t waste your money on welcome week tickets. We had spent over an hour on line to spend nearly 25 minutes in a bar that was way overcrowded and super boring. Don't worry we had to show proof of vaccination. We ended up heading back to our hotel. We were beyond loopy, T was leaving the next day to head back home. She had made a rash decision seeing that we had a long weekend to go home and see her family. Reason being she's 3,000 miles away from them, she's a Cali girl. She had bought the cheapest ticket, which only allowed her to bring a carry-on. We sat in the bed absolutely delirious when T brought up the genius idea to get Big Gulps. I immediately went on doordash excited to hear that I could order an enormous sprite. We spent the next half hour laughing our asses off as she tried to squeeze anything and everything possible into her small ass backpack. Eventually Mufasa, our doordasher, was on his way. An absolutely amazing name, if I do say so myself. We facetimed my brother and his girlfriend hysterically. It seemed as if we were high describing how T was going home and could only bring a carry-on. But we were just high on Big Gulps. Big Gulps and coffee are necessary to surviving college.
2. Pictures Will be Taken of You
Well I had gotten dressed up, as one does. I was going to a concert. I took my time getting ready, picked out my outfit, did my makeup pretty well, and attempted to style my hair. I had gotten a sheer black shirt off depop a over a year ago, and the minute I saw it I knew I was gonna wear it to go out, so that's just what I did. I matched it with a black bra and felt confident. And that in itself is hard to do because as a girl the moment you wear something like that you are labeled as a hoe or a whore. But I was made this way so I don’t give a damn, I got to flaunt it while I still have it. So we headed to the subway which is only where I thought I would get the most stares. But it was too packed, and the last thing that any New Yorker is worried about on the subway is a girl in a sheer top, with the ability to see her bra. We made uptown. Let me add I was wearing my cowboy boots. They are really cute, no hate please. So when walking I was a few steps behind my roommates due to the heel. We were crossing the street and only one man was crossing the other way. My mask was pulled down at this point since we were just walking. As we crossed paths he proceeded to take a picture of me, not on an Iphone but with a camera. With the FLASH ON. I was shocked. I thought to myself omg I hope I’m not gonna be a picture on someone's wall in their basement. I immediately thought of all the crazy people who have numerous pictures of their victims. So this is all to say always be prepared if showing some skin to have your picture taken.
3. Use your Meal Plan no matter how sick You get of the Dining Hall Food
Eating in NYC is SUPER expensive, but I’m sure you could have guessed that. While you might only get food from restaurants, or even fast food chains, the money adds up. FIT has a small dining hall, I’m being kind by saying dining hall. It has an assortment of food but it’s not as large of a selection as a big school, which you should be prepared for if you choose to go to a small SUNY/CUNY school. But no matter how many times you might get sick of the sandwich or chicken fingers and fries, or feeling spicy so you have sushi, use your meal plan. It is important. Even though I may live in a dorm providing a kitchen, I know the cleanliness is not up to my standards and by the time I’ve done a decent amount of my school work, the last thing I want to do is then prepare myself a meal. So maybe this isn't really a NYC living thing but more so a college lesson I’ve learned.
4. Don’t go to McDonalds at 11:30 at night.
No matter how close a McDonalds might be to you, and no matter how hungry you are at 11:30 at night, don't go to McDonalds, you're only setting yourself up for trouble. My roommate and I had decided to go feeling hungry and exhausted from emotions and work. Crossing the street we thought, “okay this is good there's only like 2 people here.” We know that maybe not the best people in the world may be hanging outside but we could swiftly get in so it was fine. Well we walked into an all out war. I honestly don’t know what the problem was in the 1st place. But there were many curse words and slurs being thrown around. An all out brawl could have started between 2 grown men, one of them who had worked at the McDonalds and the other one maybe not in the best state of mind. I had to stand at the register asking for a 10 piece and a Mcflurry while the man was about 5 feet away from me. I just prayed that he wasn’t gonna ask me who I sided with. It’s one of those situations where you don’t know where to look so you basically just keep staring straight ahead. Then people were coming in to pick up orders for doordash or uber eats, with attitudes and I thought hell we need to get the f out of here in case another screaming match begins. All in all, don't go to McDonalds at 11:30.
5. You’re only seeing what they want you to see
I’ve touched on this topic before, that social media is a fake reality, a platform to make our lives look perfect and it couldn't be more true when you're in college. I would be sitting in my bed in my dorm, scrolling through countless photos of girls who went to my school and all these things they were doing, or wearing and I started to give in. That everyone already had this thing figured out while I barely could remember the names of all my professors yet. But it's fake. Those same girls have had moments where they have cried for their friends and family that they miss. Those same girls have become so overwhelmed with the amount of work. And those same girls I’m sure have had a moment where they felt like they didn't belong. But guess what, that's just being human. Therefore don't believe the facade. It is only one small percentage of the rest of the story.
But here are some highlights
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