I’m not exactly sure how I am going to survive without college.

For the past four years, I’ve relied on some key factors that simply won’t be in my life anymore. I could count on a friend in class to lend me notes when I missed a lecture. I could count on a fellow Daily Kent Stater staffer to help me with a layout or a photo. I could count on my roommates to call me a cab when I had one too many drinks downtown.

In all honesty, I’m terrified to leave college. Hearing words like job security, pension and 401(k) make my skin crawl.

Life must go on. So, in looking back, let these dos and don’ts be a final testament to the good (and not so good) times I am leaving at Kent State.

Do drink. A lot. Yes, school is very important, but these are the last times in our lives where drinking three days out of the week is socially acceptable. Stop making excuses. Work hard. Play hard.

Don’t fall head-over-heels for someone too quickly. There are definitely a few things I wouldn’t do again in this category. Enough said.

Do yourself a favor and take an art history class. Choosing that as my minor has been one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve ever made. Sitting in a near-pitch- black room gazing at Mondrians, Pollauiolos and Boschs can be like an out-of-body experience. Talk to Diane Scillia in the art history department; she’s one of the most intelligent women you’ll ever meet.

Don’t waste all of your money on textbooks. I used textbooks for every one of my classes freshman year, and probably only two or three classes since then.

Do take some time out to go to church if you are religious. I am not a die-hard Catholic by any means, but every once in a while, sitting in on a mass helps to focus the rest of my week.

Don’t laugh at someone until you’re sure they’re OK after a trip/fall. I am thinking in particular of a night when a good friend of mine fell backward into an eight-foot sewer pit. When this girl eventually climbed out of this hell-hole, she looked like a wet rat. Thank God she was fine because I laughed as soon as it happened.

Do stay on good terms with your roommates. Even if they happen to be lazy, selfish or boring, stay on their good side. There is nothing worse than coming home to an awkward

silence.

Don’t be afraid of the police. They are mostly here to help. Stay out of their way and they should stay out of yours.

Do see your college experience in the grand scheme of life. There are plenty of times when I have made mistakes like not studying, drinking when I shouldn’t have … and some illegal activities. But, in the bigger picture, I’m glad I did all of them. These are the times to make those mistakes. Enjoy them.

Finally, never eat a burrito on St. Patrick’s Day. A communal dorm shower is not such a good place to vomit up an entire order at Chipotle after an early-morning Irish car bomb. Trust me.

Sam Twarek is a senior visual journalism major and guest

columnist for the Daily Kent Stater.