It might be the fact that usually at this time, my Snapchat stories are filled with photos from Monday Night Pavs or the mosh pit at Cotton Gin, but it seems like the past few weeks I have seen a rise of a certain type of photo:

College students getting pets.

And when I talk about pets, I’m not talking about that little goldfish you buy to test the boundaries of your RM. I mean full fledged dogs and cats. Things that actually require effort.

I mean, if you can handle the time and commitment of a dog, hats off to you. But there have been so many instances on my social media feed, I am very confident that some people didn’t think it through. 

These students probably scrolled through their IG, saw one of those celebrity dog accounts, had $50 in their Venmo account and next thing they know, there’s fucking Snoopie in their apartment. 

It doesn’t help that for many of these people, the only experience they have had with brand new pets was when they were 7 years old and their parents got them a dog for Christmas and they had 0.01% responsibility in the process.

And just like most things in life, it gets a lot harder when the biggest issue of your life is no longer whether or not your mother packed your Rice Krispy Treat for snack time. 

I have a positive mindset, I am hoping that when we come back after Winter break, we will have our veins full of antibodies (from a safe and approved vaccine) and also a Five Points that can’t wait for the UofSC community. 

But at Five’s, we have all had that moment.

The one when it’s 1 AM and you’re debating whether or not to ride the Bull at Moosehead and you have that 5-10 second panic attack because you don’t remember if you submitted your essay on Blackboard?? 

Now imagine that, but now it’s “FUCK DID I FEED BAXTER TODAY”  

Most of these people are still in the “honeymoon” phase of getting a pet. Where the puppy can do no wrong and their snapchats are full of  “Aww can I come over to see him?!?”.

But just wait a few months, when you’re trying to get your 3 hours of sleep before your exam but Baxter just shit next to your bed.

That’ll be where we separate the men from the boys and the women from the wives.