15 "Stranger Things" GIFS That Accurately Represent Freshman Year

Freshman Year is basically the Upside-Down

1. Flying the Coop

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Almost every college student feels that they are ready to leave the nest and finally get away from their parents. However, you can't ignore the rush of emotions when you've made your last trip to the car and your parents are ready to abandon you in your room on the 8th floor of your air-conditionless residence hall.

2. Pizza is Key

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Students will quickly realize that pizza is an essential part of college. RA wants you to come to their program? You bet there will be pizza there. Random campus club looking to recruit members? Pizza galore. Pizza will probably be there for you more than your friends are. And no matter how much pizza you have, you'll never grow tired of it.

3. Syllabi

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That's the plural form of syllabus, in case you were wondering. Be prepared to look at a syllabus and feel like developing telekinesis and making vans fly would be an easier feat than completing all the assignments listed.

4. Drinking

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For many students, college will be the place where they first drink. Steve from down the hall will try to impress his roommates with his amateur drinking skills, but ultimately he will drink too much and get written up by the RA for running around the halls in scuba gear.

5. All Nighters

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Modern day college students are expected to go to class, participate in extracurriculars, all while somehow still having time to work a part time job in attempt to make some contribution to all the student loan debt they've taken on. Because of this, all nighters will become inevitable, and this is how your eyes feel after staying up through the wee hours of the night staring at a computer screen.

6. ProcrastiNATION

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Even though you know you have all those classes, extracurricular, and work expectations, you will still put everything off until the last minute so that you can finish binge watching Stranger Things for the third time. You will either become an expert procrastinator, or realize you need to rethink some life choices.

7. College ≠ Mature

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You'll soon find out that college is not some magical realm that immediately makes students grow up and act maturely. This will become especially prevalent during things like tornado warnings when students are gathered together to take shelter in a hallway and encourage everyone to join them in their rendition of "Don't Stop Believin."

8. Realizing You're Not a Morning Person

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You may think you're a morning person until you get stuck in an 8 a.m. class. Not only do you question what you did in a past life to deserve this, but you'll also question why your professor wants to get up even earlier to make the commute to campus to see your unkempt, sweatpants-clad self first thing in the morning.

9. #BallinOnABudget

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If you don't have a meal plan, frozen foods will become your best friend. Not only are they quick and easy to make, it's literally the only thing you can afford. But let's be real, even if you have a meal plan, we all know that the chicken tenders and fries look way better than the salad bar you told yourself you were going to eat at every day.

10. Homesickness Strikes

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Admit it, you miss home. As much as you swore you're *~ready to get out~* of your hometown and be independent and do everything on your own, it will become clear that maybe you really do need your parents (or your pet, since your decision to FaceTime your parents is really so that they can turn the phone to see if Rover will recognize you).

11. Sound the Alarm

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You thought you had finally made a good decision for yourself by going to bed at 10 p.m. to get a good night's sleep. You were wrong. At 11 p.m. you will wake up in a panic and realize you have an assignment due in approximately 59 minutes.

12. Sharing is Caring

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Living with a complete stranger is nerve-wracking enough, but most freshmen will have a pleasant experience with their roommate. You will know you're not one of those lucky ones when your roommate that you've known for approximately 4 hours is extremely comfortable stripping down and changing in front of you.

13. Hello, It's Me

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On the first day of one of your classes you will probably meet someone who will proceed to avoid eye contact with you outside of class and act like they don't know you, who will skip class more than they attend, but will eventually have the audacity to email you before an exam and ask you for all your notes from the class.

14. You Are Not Alone

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There's no better place than college for freshmen to finally have a space to be the person they want to be. There's a club or organization to help you find a community or group that caters to your most obscure interests. We're looking at you, Pokémon Trainers Club.

15. Finals Fallout

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Your first finals week may feel like you're getting ready for a storm. You'll gather up supplies like bottled water and non-perishable food so that you don't have to waste precious time leaving your room. You'll take extra caution to protect your most valuable belongings, a.k.a save the paper you're working on every 3 minutes (just in case), and making sure you have a secure internet connection and full charge on your laptop for that online exam you only get one chance to take. With the right preparation, you will make it through. At the end of the week, you and your friends will grow even closer as you have survived what feels like a natural disaster.