Those were the days my friend!

College days.... Don't you just miss them?

You know how they say you should cherish and embrace each stage of your life, cuz it's unique in what it has and offers? I'm all for that. Really.
It's just that there's something about college days that grabs you. It keeps you hooked, keeps you missing, keeps you nostalgic and gets you mushy-wushy at the mention of it!
You may someday grow old and bold and forget what a toothbrush is used for or what your name is, and wonder things like "who the heck are these kids and why are they calling me grandma"- but the memory of that bizarre professor or that sleepover (aka "project work") with friends will be vivid and glowing like it was yesterday.

I still love to hear my mom and dad recall funny college stories. Like the time my mom and her friends cooked about 5 packets of Spaghetti at once cuz "it looked so little and we estimated each would eat a whole packet"! Still gets me laughing!

It's universal really. Just take a closer look next time someone recalls a college experience. Be it a fresh grad, or your parents or someone old and cranky- it's always the same silly grin, dreamy eyes and excited heart.

Where else in life could you get away with the things you did in college? Today I sat with my friend Samar sharing our college stories. She's an architecture student so it was like hearing my sister's stories all over again:) I love architecture students. Their lives are amusing to observe (at a safe distance!! Me? zero sleep? yeah RIGHT).

You could do everything and anything on a whim. Watch two movies in a row, have a kitkat chunky for breakfast/lunch and/or dinner, and go out wearing unmatched bright colored socks cuz that's all what's left in your drawer.

You had friends come over whenever. My friends learnt (the hard way) that they can never expect what they'll be greeted with. If I had just returned home or was just about to leave I'd be dressed up (oh well by my standards anyway), if I had just woken up or simply didn't feel like changing, I'd still be in my Winnie the Pooh PJs, and if it's laundry day, well, you don't wanna know.

If they were lucky enough to visit on a week that me and my sis managed to get groceries, then they'll find their visit to the fridge rewarding. Otherwise, it's water (usually) and that questionable green moldy thing that we're too afraid to touch and throw away!

But then there were the days they'd come over and find me making cookies, or my sis cooking amazing food. We'd earn total forgiveness from the second bite they took!

At one point or another during my college experience I've used one of these "inviting" sentences to get my friends to come over:

"Hey I've got pizza and a movie, wanna join?" (an ultimate favorite and best turnout rates)
"So i've discovered we have some food in the fridge after all- OMG did that lettuce just move???? HOLY....- so, interested?" (This elicited different responses. My friends who were living in the comfort of their parents' homes mumbled something about finding new friends and hung up. Similarly deprived friends would show up in about 10 minutes).
"I just put the lasagna in the oven. You've got 30 minutes to be here" (they always made it on time!)
"My mom sent us a box of snickers." (Again, great turnout rates).

I had plans with Samar today. She came to my house right after she got off work and we had iftar together. We wanted to go for a brisk walk on the sea side afterwards.
Me: So, you're still up for that walk?
Samar: SURE thing! Go get ready.

Five minutes and 10 layers later (hey I like to stay warm:P) I went in my room just to find Samar has collapsed on my bed. I called her once or twice, but she was fast asleep. I covered her with a blanket, shut the room door and here I am typing.

Well, I guess there will always be a part of college lingering still :)

I'll go fix something sweet to OD on together once she's awake and the (only too familiar) unsuppressible late-afternoon-sugar-craving strikes.

What do you know, college days are back!