The other day I was on campus, in between activities, and I watched groups of parents with their kids wandering around with lost looks in their eyes.  They were holding the characteristic red orientation packets that scream, “I’m probably lost and confused right now!”  Moms were holding maps upside down and backwards, pointing at buildings and screwing their eyes.  Dads were standing in the middle of the roadways, blocking bicycle traffic.  Girls were trying to fit into the college crowd, combing their hair with their fingers and looking around nervously.  They were wearing nice clothes and designer flip flops.  They failed miserably at fitting in.

See, at this point, with only 11 real class days left in the fall semester, we college kids are in survival mode.  Last week I pulled two all-nighters.  Seven page paper due tomorrow?  No problem…just lemme run to Starbucks first.  I’ve seen more bloodshot eyes in the past few days than I have ever seen in my life.

“Why is your shirt all wrinkly…and smelly?”

“I wore it yesterday, and I slept in it last night, and it was the first thing I saw this morning so….”

“Yeah,  I know what you mean.”

I am in survival mode until the end of the semester.  I can sleep at any time, in any situation.  I will eat things that are total crap, just because I’m not sure when I’ll have time to eat next.  My drink of choice is caffeinated tea.  I feel like a character in a first-person shooter game whose mission is to survive under fire for 10 minutes; I know it’ll be over soon, I’ve just got to make it there.