Welcome to life at college!

I wonder how many of us, the freshmen class, truly feel like college students. It seems like a ridiculous question to ask, but when you think about it, college students are so different from high school students that the change might not happen overnight. This transition is subtle and difficult to trace, but the discovery that you have truly become a college student is as satisfying as anything you've previously experienced. This week, I thought in an effort to guide this tricky conversion, I might highlight the tell tale signs to look for, to let you know that you are indeed a college student. If you display two or more of these signs, you know you are a college student, or you know that you might as well be.

You know you are a college student when someone calls you at 11 in the morning, and you are completely appalled at their lack of consideration for you and your beauty sleep, and yet knocking on someone's door at two in the morning for a Wa run seems reasonable. In that same vein, you know you are a college student when you whine and moan about getting up for an 8:30 a.m. class, until you realize that you got up at this time, or even earlier, every day in high school.

You know you are a college student when you go back home and find yourself wearing shoes when you go to take a shower, or even worse, when you find yourself carrying your own toiletries in and out of the bathroom every time.

You know you are a college student when you fall on your knees in gratitude when your mother serves your least favorite meal, because anything is better than having a tiny grilled chicken breast three meals a day.

Even more obvious is how when you are at home, and become hungry, you try to swipe your Prox down the side of the refrigerator after pondering for 15 minutes as to whether to use points or charge.

You know you are a college student when you go home and take all of your posters down off of the door because it is a means of egress and must be recognizable as such at all times.

You know you are a college student when you spend a significant amount of time in the morning debating about whether or not anyone would remember that you wore that sweatshirt for the last week and a half. Another sign is that it doesn't immediately occur to you to wash it.

You know you are a college student when you go to your local movie theater and realize that it is teeming with middle school aged kids, and all you can think of is, "Well, I certainly was never that immature."

Then you remember that last night you and your entire hallway went to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (I actually really love Harry Potter, and I don't think it is immature. Forgive me, Harry.)

You know you are a college student when you watch movies like Empire Records and Dazed and Confused over and over and you can totally relate.

You know you are a college (specifically Princeton University) student when putting on clean jeans and a t-shirt for class is dressing up, but wearing that to the eating clubs isn't appropriate. For that, you need to wear a tight dress and stiletto heels.

And finally, you are definitely, without a doubt, specifically a Princeton University student when you suddenly realize that half the contents of your closet, some shoes, several hats and your umbrella are either orange or black.

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Let these tidbits be your guide as you are initiated into the world of collegiate life. And remember when you run out of clean clothes to wear, or realize you've not slept in days, it's ok. You are not alone. You, like so many before you, are a college student. Noelle Muro is from East Haven, Conn. She can be reached at nmuro@princeton.edu.