If it’s true blondes have more fun, I should soon be finding out. In the sporadic randomness that can also be called a college student’s everyday life, I have joined the crowd of platinum blond Eminem look-alikes. Over the weekend, in a fit of boredom, a friend of mine decided he hadn’t done enough crazy things college students are supposed to be known for. So on a whim, a couple of our friends decided to throw in a couple of bucks and go for a whole new look. As Chef would tell the kids of South Park, “There’s a time and a place for everything — it’s called college.”

ÿIronically, our little salon experiment happened just hours after parents had shuffled out of town to end family weekend here in Ames. College life becomes the first time for many students to take advantages of freedom they lacked when living under their parents’ roofs. The rules and guidelines that have dominated our entire upbringings have become nothing more than suggestions. It’s like that little angel in cartoons who sits on your left shoulder, trying to convince you to take the happy, moral route.

The paths a college student can choose are seemingly endless. In this first expression of freedom, students will have to find their own limits on responsibilities. There’ll be no more parents to tell you to pick up your room, not to eat ice cream before dinner or finish your homework before watching television. In fact, for the student living on campus, there will be even less chores and household tasks to drudge through as a student living off-campus might have.

As we get closer to midterms, many new students have probably begun to feel the wrath of taking too much advantage of their new freedoms. Time-wasting becomes the best friend and worst enemy to many students out of the parental dominion for the first time. We get carried away with the fact that we no longer have to abide by a curfew and can be out at all hours, taking away from time that could be spent studying or even working. A healthy balance is needed to make sure we don’t abuse our ability to create our own time management schedules.

While some of the things students get away with sans parents are somewhat fun, such as giving yourself and a friend an extremely bad at-home bleach job, or going to your classes in your pajamas, we need to be careful not to get too out of control. As we have seen from the actions of the Dean of Students Office regarding tailgating, our campus is taking a proactive response to underage and binge drinking.

Drinking can have various effects on a student’s school and personal life. According to an online alcohol awareness Web site (www.Alcohol

Edu.com), 51.1 percent of student drinkers reported doing something they regretted later while under the influence. Other effects of intoxication included missing class from hangovers, falling behind in school and even as dramatic effects as trouble with police and requiring medical attention.

Being responsible with your social life is a crucial part of freedom. Many organizations have alcohol awareness programs to help students better understand the effects alcohol can have on them — at Iowa State, “Reality” ads are sponsored by Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention and the Thielen Student Health Center. Be mindful of your decisions and of the people around you. Freedom from parental reign may be fun and games, but don’t throw common sense out the window. Curb the amount of freedom you give yourself.

Making your own decisions, whether it be what you have for dinner or what you major in, is all part of the tough realization that we’re growing up and getting ready to enter the infamous “real world.” While not having parental rule totally dominate you, it’s also safe to say it’s probably not in your best interest to tick them off, either. So an ideal balance would be a free, but controlled college kid who doesn’t set out with an agenda against his or her parents. Parents may be shocked to see the college version of their children — or they may not be, considering many students still live in fear of their parents and have gotten inconspicuous tattoos and piercings.

Responsible spontaneity can make for some great college memories. I’ve been racking up the points on my own spontaneous action scoreboard, and I’m not doing so bad. Lose yourself in the moment, and heed Chef’s words. Be responsible, but don’t forget to have fun.

These are the stories you’ll be telling your kids down the road (or maybe the stories you’ll hide from them), so make sure you’ve got some good ones.