After being fed misleading ideas for so long about what our college experience would be and should be, it’s hard to digest anything that goes against what we know. But there are a few things everyone should know and accept, however unwillingly.

First off, the party does end. Unless we include study parties, then we are talking about a lot of wild nights staying up late, jittery from caffeine and pacing the library in search of the room of requirements.

Yes the sad truth is that we do not create our GPAs Downtown, and working out and looking good don’t earn you credit.

Secondly, even if what happens in Binghamton stays in Binghamton, you have to remember that you do too. Hooked up with some crazy girl at a party? Count on running into her in an empty elevator. A slow-moving elevator.

And maybe most important is the fact that college is not synonymous with sleeping, eating and drinking.

Say goodbye to all that extra shut-eye from winter break. Despite how movies portray the college lifestyle, sleeping is not always followed by more sleeping, sex then sleeping or even food then sleeping. Most of the time you have to wake up.

That said, there is no dress code for class, so if you want to keep the party going by wearing stilettos to Philosophy 101, nothing is stopping you — aside from the puddles, ice, pointing and laughing.

More often than not though, people rock the “I may be out of bed, but I wouldn’t say I’m here either” look — similar to the hipster look minus the irony — with their sweats and glazed-over eyes.

Of course I already know this all being a second semester sophomore, but I have recently become focused on the sleep issue because I know it will be a struggle to adjust after such an extended break. I am simply not ready to wake up at the crack of dawn.

OK, 8:30 a.m. is not exactly the crack of dawn, but when you don’t have a sun to go by it makes it hard to guess. (I hope you didn’t bother bringing your personal sundial from home.)

So how am I going to get through it? I have decided to become a morning person. I know, I know, you cannot just decide to become a morning person. But I have a plan. Most people, myself included, believe that the more sleep you get, the better rested you will feel, even if it means sacrificing breakfast.

So many of us wake up at the last minute, throw on some clothes and run to class. But I don’t think those extra minutes do anything for me. What would?

Well, considering I can no longer take baths in rose petals because people complained that it “clogged the drain,” I guess I will have to settle for another morning ritual, like orange juice.

Or breakfast in general. It is the perfect thing to look forward to between waking up and going to class. Every source from our parents to the cereal commercials — that only have our best interests in mind — shout that it is “the most important meal of the day!” So when will we listen?

I for one want to begin my breakfast experience this semester. Hopefully this all works out for me and I remain alert for all of my classes. If it does not pan out I have some backup plans. I think I heard someone say that if you go to sleep right after you wake up you can never be tired. No argument there.