Why College Students are Just Like Little Kids

It was the second weekend of my first semester and my roommate and I decided we’d take a trip to Walmart to get some essentials. Things like chips, cookie dough, soda, and candy. We got much anything we wanted to because it was freshman year and we could buy whatever we felt like. But what we actually ended up getting were things like fruit snacks, applesauce, granola bars, and Capri Suns. When I bought all these snacks, something dawned on me. Everything I bought were snacks a little kid would eat. I remember when I was little, I would beg my mom for fruit snacks and a Capri Sun. Those were the best snacks to get as a kid. After making that realization, I went about my day and realized there were more and more things that made college kids like little kids.  

1. We love little kid snacks. Nothing makes me happier than fruit snacks and a Capri Sun after a long day of classes. Or eating some Goldfish while I write a paper. Whenever I go to the grocery store I always grab fruit snacks and GoGo Squeez. There is just something about little kid food that makes it so good. 

2. We are highly motivated by free food. Now in this case it doesn’t have to be only snacks. It could be a free dinner, lunch, or dessert. If someone told me an event was going to have free food, there is a much higher chance I’d go to it. We love food, and if there are free cookies or dinner you know we will be there. 

3.Like a little kid, we would be extremely easy to kidnap. If someone was trying to get us to go with them, all they would need to do is offer us free food or to pet their dog. If a kidnapper offered us some candy we’d go, no questions asked. One of the things I think everyone was taught as a kid was “stranger danger”, and in college, that rule just doesn’t apply. If someone had food, a cute dog, or money we would gladly go with them.  

4. We test things to find them out. When kids are little, they are told not to touch hot things, like the stove. But sometimes the only way they learn that is through experience. College kids are the same way. Based on personal experience, if we question something we will test it even if we know the answer. For example, if we want to know if the glass on the fireplace is hot, we’ll touch it to find out. Even though we know that it’s hot and it will burn us. 

5. We love naps. If there’s something that every college kid loves, it’s naps. If we have the afternoon free, you know we are going to go take a nap. Being in college is exhausting, and sometimes we need that afternoon nap to get through the rest of the day, just like a little kid would.  

6. We like stuffed animals. Well, at least girls do. Last semester there was the opportunity to get a free stuffed animal if you could wait in line. And that line was long. I stood in that line for close to an hour just so I could get a stuffed animal. But in the end, it was totally worth it.  

7. We are easily distracted. I’m sure we’ve all been there. You’re sitting in Janzow trying to write that paper that’s due at midnight when you see one of your friends walk in. You want to be nice so you invite them over to talk. You talk for a while and they leave, but then you suddenly remember you need to get a birthday present for your dad. You hop on Amazon to get him something before you forget again. You find him something and order it. Then you realize three hours have gone by and you got nothing done on that paper.   

8.We are easily entertained.On the other end of distraction is that we are easily entertained. Just like a little kid, if you sit us down in front of a movie, we will sit there at watch the movie. After long days of school, all it takes is a nice movie for us to be entertained. If we see a puppy walk by, we will stare at that puppy as long as we can.  

College is a wonderful time for many reasons. You’re living on your own for the first time and you are getting to experience new things. But I must admit that one of the best things about college is getting to act like a little kid again. It’s something that came as a surprise to me last semester, but it's something I’ve come to love about college. It’s something you don’t think you would miss, but getting to be a little kid again is pretty awesome.