I never went to camp.

Until university, that is. Living in a dorm, getting through first year in one piece, has definitely been an adventure. I will never forget most of what has happened to me in the past 8 months.
It's been like sleep-away camp, boot-camp for your brain, and camping when it comes to overall cleanliness and food quality.
And, in being ridiculously nostalgic (and procrastinating from studying), I choose to impart my newly acquired first year knowledge on the virtual world.

1. Long distance relationships will fail, generally high school sweethearts do not end up together. Especially if you're only 18. Especially if you're living in a state of delusion. I don't know what I was thinking really, going off to university believing that I could handle a long distance relationship on top of a major life change. I was meeting new people, doing new things, taking classes with hundreds of people, and generally having fun. When someone's in another city they are not a part of all that, and it's really difficult to force it.
2. Generally, time is spent with a group of people you will inevitably see everyday. They become your family, your world, and it becomes odd not to see a friend on any given day. Which brings me to my next point.
3. Time is just odd in university. While two days can seem like eons, weeks pass at warp speed. You just kinda have to get used to it and the fact that you no longer live in the "real world" and have entered some kind of "la la" Universityland.
4. You will find a balance, or fail. You can't be stressed out and work all the time, but then you can't be like that guy who got evicted and never went to class because he was smoking pot all the time. University means figuring out what works for you and what kind of person you are going to be.
5. The idea of going away and reinventing yourself is only half true. You are who you are. You are going to grow and change and figure out new ways of approaching things, but essentially you are gonna be the way that you have always been. And this is not a bad thing.
5. Mysterious marks/stains/etc. on any surface are better left that way. Whether it's your mattress, the ceiling, the chairs in the lounge, the carpet, the bathroom wall... those are all the places that I remember having found and discussed disturbing stains, but regardless it's best not to think about it and just move on, the possibilities soon become frightening.
6. It's really easy to go through life passively, but don't. I made the mistake of not being involved with clubs/societies/etc this year, and am going to remedy it this year. Living in this whole summer camp situation meant I still met people, but I had nothing to fill my boredom with but Facebook. Also, if you're going to just let life pass you by, then what is the point? All of my best memories are when I went out and did something.
7. You will make horrible, irrevocable mistakes. But you will learn from them, and you will grow, and you will surround yourself with people who support you no matter what. It's better to realize that these mistakes are going to happen then to try and avoid them.
8. Students are like sardines. They smell funny.
Just kidding. We live in tiny little boxes stacked on top of each other and beside each other. We take up space with our personalities, not our things. We have gotten used to close quarters and living in this little box. It means that we don't really stay in one place too long, which is I think something profound in itself.
9. You will begin to think in a "we" context. Even if you are not dating someone, the amount of time spent with your friends, the people you care about, automatically means considering the world from the perspective of "we". What "we" should eat for dinner, what "we" are doing this weekend, when are "we" flying home. As much as "we" are independent, there is a big part of you that relies on companionship and your friends. You don't really do much alone. You can, but simply do not.
10. You are going to surprise yourself. One day it will just hit you, and you'll realize you've made decisions you never thought you would, you've done things you can't imagine, and you've become someone like you and then wholly not. This isn't necessarily negative, it's just... surprising.

I'm packing up and leaving first year. Some of my close friends have begun to leave, and it's a really bittersweet feeling. One the one hand we're done and it's summer and it's just really great not to have to think and stress and do all the hoop jumping anymore. But we're leaving, we don't get to stay in Universityland anymore. It's back to the real world, and that means the loose, rag-tag bunch of us is being split up. For what is the first long time since we met. The Nicknamer pointed out something interesting (via Facebook, of course, people don't communicate real thoughts anymore... ) - it's really difficult to pack up eight months of your life. It means it's really over. Nothing will be the same again, and while change is amazing for you, it is truly difficult to say goodbye to something as wonderful as the first year of true independence, true friendships, and true memories.