Things I Learned Freshman Year of College

Freshman year of college is over, and I honestly think I've learned more in these nine months than I have in the entire 19 years I've spent on this (at the moment, freakishly hot) planet. Here are the lessons I've learned about love, life, and music:

1. I didn't know how to play the oboe
2. There is a difference between 17 degrees and -2. It does not all fall under one category of "really effing cold." -2 requires more modifiers.
3. After a while, your friend group starts to act like a family.
4. You can't be everyone's mother.
5. Converse are not suitable winter attire.
6. There is a such thing as a "fall jacket," and it's heavier than you'd think.
7. Case humidifiers are not just a good thing; they're a way of life.
8. When you find true friends, you know it automatically.
9. Listen to all nine of Beethoven's symphonies all the way through at least once before you die.
10. Breathe.
11. Practicing to the exclusion of bodily needs (going to the bathroom, eating, etc.) is not a good thing, though is sometimes unintentional.
12. Go outside. Take a break. Do something else. Clear your head.
13. The people who piss you off gain power over you only if you let them.
14. Being obscenely nice to these people is almost the only way to deal with them.
15. That being said, don't take shit if you're being given it.
16. Sometimes your oboe teacher will mother you. She usually has good advice.
17. Sleep is a luxury. Get it when you can.
18. All-nighters writing code are a really, really bad idea.
19. More than three consecutive hours of writing code at a time will make you batshit insane.
20. Same goes for practicing.
21. If it's getting worse and you're getting frustrated, leave the practice room.
22. There are non music majors at college, but you never see them.
23. This might be because you never leave the music school.
24. Take an outside course every semester. This will make you leave the music school at least once a day, which is good for your sanity.
25. It's okay to take a day off.
26. How you're feeling affects the people around you. Be kind to them.
27. Eventually, you will expect your roommate to show up in your baby pictures.
28. Anything that involves drinking an entire pot of coffee is a bad idea.
29. Joining a professional fraternity will teach you how to professionally stalk people.
30. There's no shortage of two things: bad music jokes and ways the internet can further corrupt your mind.
31. There is a world outside of the music school. It does not understand the extent of a music major. This does not mean they are lesser humans.
32. Not everyone understands concert etiquette.
33. The freshman fifteen is real, unless of course you live half a mile uphill from the music building.
34. People change. They're not going to stay the same as they were in high school.
35. You'll change too.
36. Don't be too proud to ask for help, from students, professors, even a counselor if you need one.
37. There are a hundred people like you at college. Befriend them. But keep your individual identity.
38. Cake batter does, in fact, burn if you spill large amounts of it in the bottom of an oven. This could lead to your dorm catching on fire. Panicking does not help this at all.
39. Exercise, while taking time out of your day, will make you feel better and less stressed.
40. Dorms are loud, no matter what.
41. The nightly running of the sluts happens, even on weeknights.
42. Make as many Hitchhiker's Guide references as you can.
43. Relationships are good, but don't stress out over making one happen. It'll come.
44. That being said, you do, in fact, have to say something if you want it to happen.
45. Three words: challah french toast.
46. After spending all day analysing music, it's okay to listen to mindless pop. In fact, you'll probably appreciate it more.
47. Being pretentious doesn't make you seem smart; it makes you seem like an asshole.
48. Give friends the help you can, but you can't make them accept it.
49. Go on walks.
50. When debugging code, a) Firefox has a debug console, and b) it's usually something obvious.
51. Snow fights will hurt the next day, but are violently fun. They often conclude in sodden pants.
52. Apparently, 18 inches of snow is not grounds for not having class the next day :P
53. Ice is slippery, and it is not to be messed with.
54. Insomnia Cookies takes FOREVER.
55. It takes an hour by bus to go where you could get in 20 minutes by car.
56. You often have the most fun when wandering around without a plan.
57. Remember your ID.
58. Just because you have a reed today doesn't mean it'll work tomorrow.
59. Even if you're just over five feet tall, you can still hit your head on the beam of your lofted bed.
60. Seriously, take out the trash. And vacuum.
61. Live. Make mistakes. It's only these four years when you can use the excuse "I was dumb. I was in college." That being said, don't drive drunk or have unprotected sex.
62. If you don't like what you're doing, you're in the wrong field. Remember every day why you love music.

Alright. That's about it for tonight. I think I'm going to make a weekly list of my mishaps and lessons learned the hard way. Any thoughts?