I realized this summer that being labeled a “college kid” sucks. I mean, it is not necessarily that bad… I love being in college, but we get such a bad rap.

I will never complain about being able to start class at noon or go out on a weeknight, but just because I have that luxury doesn’t mean I abuse it. Neither does every other college kid in the country. However, “college kid” has such a bad connotation that when you say “I’m a junior in college” people automatically think the worst.

That happened to me this summer. I decided that my car had been broken into enough, so I was going to move to Metairie where the rent is cheaper, and, compared to Uptown, there is significantly less crime. I applied for three apartments and was turned down for each and every one because I was a “college kid.”

Is it my fault that the only jobs I can get are in retail? Do you think I like working at Abercrombie and Fitch? No, I really don’t! But no one else will hire me because I’m a “college kid.” One place even had the audacity to tell me that they didn’t like “my type” because people like me show up late and hung over or quit without warning.

But I digress. Each apartment building told me I had to make three times the rent per month. If the rent was $400, I had to make $1200 and prove that I had made that much – since I pay $1200 per month, right? I finally got sick of it and called in the best defense a college girl knows – her daddy. That’s right. So much for being independent.

As soon as my dad said he would sign as a guarantor, all three apartment buildings called and “found a loophole to accept my application.”

I told them to buzz off and found an apartment building that requested I have a guarantor before telling me “no.” So I still relied on daddy, but I’m nevertheless paying my own way.

Speaking of paying one’s own way, you’d think that “college kids” would get a break on bills. You know, show you made the Dean’s List last semester and get $5 off each bill for a semester. That would make life a lot easier: between the cell phone, electricity, water, cable and Internet, that’s $25. As a “college kid” you can do a lot with $25. Even get drunk at 50-cent night at The Boot.

So my first summer away from home as a “college kid” was spent working three jobs, fighting for an apartment that would rent to a “college kid,” and getting drunk – unfortunately, in that order.

There are some upsides to being a “college kid.” Family and friends’ parents almost always want to give you free food. You can use it as an excuse for getting drunk or being hung over all the time. And if someone calls you lazy, laugh and say “I’m in college.”