There are a lot of routine activities that have changed from the time I was a freshman. What seemed like the cool thing to do then is definitely not always what is considered the “in” thing to do now. Of course, I have upgraded from the simple typical freshmen things like studying in the dorm’s library or doing laundry in communal machines, but other standards have changed over my time on campus, too.
Eating on campus
Even if you didn’t have a meal plan, it was acceptable to go to Broward Dining for breakfast on a Sunday morning for a Gator pancake. Now, I don’t think I could wake up in time for breakfast.
Picking up sushi or a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream from Beaty Market was just another typical night of the week. I still live close to campus, and in terms of walking places, Beaty Market is still extremely accessible, but now it doesn’t seem like an acceptable place for a senior to make grocery purchases.
While it isn’t weird to crave Panda Express or a sandwich from Chick-fil-A during the week in between classes, it used to be normal to go to lunch at the Reitz on the weekend. The Reitz has plenty of options, but unless I have a rare meeting on a weekend at the Reitz, I wouldn’t even consider going there to eat.
Eating off campus
Mochi is now all the rage. Freshmen year Mochi had just opened and there was an awkward transition from people realizing frozen yogurt is better for you than ice cream. BJs in your PJs was the event to attend on Sunday evenings at the Ben Jerry’s in Midtown, which is now Mochi. If you wore your pajamas, you received a dollar off of your purchase. Now Mochi and Red Mango have taken over traditional ice cream places. Besides Cold Stone, they have driven Ben and Jerry’s and TCBY away.
The only constant throughout my four years has been Bento. It will always be a Gainesville staple.
Going out
As a freshman, Midtown drew an older crew. A lot of the bars went through phases of being 21 and up only, and not many freshmen were interested in sneaking into Balls. Now, the place is crawling with 18-year-olds.
Instead of going to the bars, my friends and I could be found wandering up and down fraternity row. Before many of the fraternities got into serious trouble for hazing and underage drinking, themed parties were huge. From around the world, where each room in the house was themed with decorations from different countries to foam parties where huge foam machines created havoc and we ran around in bathing suits, every weekend had a different party to attend.
Because many of the fraternities have been placed on social probation for various reasons, freshmen now frequent the bar scene a lot more than I ever did.
When I did go to Midtown as a freshman, I rarely went to Swamp. What is now called Envy, used to be XS, and it was the go to place on Wednesday and Friday nights. The draw was and is that it is the only club type atmosphere in Midtown. It was the place every girl wanted to spend her 21st birthday, so she could dance and drink with friends. Wednesday was and still is ladies night, but XS was best known for Friday nights.
On Friday night, it was 80s night, where you could hear the best throwback songs mixed in with popular songs. I am not sure if Envy has continued this tradition because it isn’t considered the most popular Friday night option, but I know they started to integrate 90s music into the mix as the freshmen are younger. The 80s was 30 years ago.
Pop Culture
Jersey Shore has been on television for my entire college career, but it was biggest my freshmen year. We used to have viewing parties on Thursday nights for the new episode. My sorority even had a social with the show as the theme to dress in. I don’t know when or why the show decline in popularity, but even having the UF twins make cameos on the show didn’t bring in the ratings amongst my friends. I haven’t watched the past few seasons at all.
Transportation
As a freshman, I was scared of the bus system. I wasn’t entirely sure what route would take me where or when it was appropriate to pull the lever to indicate I wanted to get off the bus. I definitely relied on my own two feet to get me places and SNAP at night. Now I don’t know what I would do without the Sorority Row bus and the Later Gator. They are the two simplest buses to navigate, and I don’t know why it took me so long to utilize the bus.
While I still use SNAP because of how close I live to campus, the system is completely different. It never took up to an hour to be picked up, and there was no automated system. An operator simply picked up the phone, assigned you a van and it was there pretty quickly.
Nowadays, the operated system often backfires and selects locations you don’t want. The only pro is you know a van has been assigned to your stop and it calls you when it has arrived.
Another change is the old system requested your UF-ID, which proved you were a student. Now it only asks for your phone number, which bothers me a little because it isn’t stopping non-UF students from using the service.
Football tickets
Freshman year was Tim Tebow’s last year as a Gator. This meant it was next to impossible to win football tickets in the lottery as a freshman. The stadium was at capacity every game, and to scalp a ticket meant dishing out a minimum of $50 for a non-conference game and up to $100 for a rivalry game.
This year, tickets were available to any and all students. The ticket office was still sending out reminders to buy tickets a few weeks before the season began. Now tickets are easy to obtain for a cheaper price even with the Gators moving up in the rankings.
Purchasing tickets for the Florida Georgia game was an intense moment. Within a few minutes, the allotted amount was sold out. Now the acclaimed world’s largest outdoor cocktail party still has tickets up for grabs.
Four years brings a lot of changes. Whether they are normal upgrades from moving from a dorm to an apartment or changes in trends of the masses, change is inevitable. It is funny to look back and remember what seemed cool, and I am curious to know if any of the trends will become popular again in another four years.
