Wednesday, Mar. 26, 2003 5:10 a.m.

college: best years of my life?

I�ve been told many times that college is the best years of your life...I was told that before I came and I�m still being told that...but I seriously hope that it�s not true, because I�m not always having the greatest time here.

The �real world� sucks? well, perhaps. I mean, you then have to work full time (if you count 40 hrs/week as �full� time) and support yourself. You have to pay for your own food, transportation, bills, insurance, etc. You don�t have a Spring Break; you can�t take random road trips. You have to deal with the politics of business. but is this so bad? I think what I�m handling now is worse:

I pay my own rent. I buy my own food. About the only thing I don�t take care of is my insurance. I have two part-time jobs (one is a graveyard shift during the week, the other consumes the majority of my weekends. total hrs/week: around 30-35). I�m taking a 19 hour class load, I�m involved in student government, I�m active in my social club (sorority), I volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Girl Scouts. I help plan my roommates� bridal showers, I stay out late on weekends (after work, of course) so as to still have a social life. I don�t have weekends off for road trips; I work at least 20 hrs each weekend. I try to email people and I try to find a job for after I graduate. I try to study. I try to finish projects. I try to get my laundry done occasionally. And I try to get a decent amount of sleep. It�s a crazy life and at times, I just feel like I�m trying to survive each day�s to-do list.

What I would give to work my ass off from 9-5, only 8 hrs. a day!, and have the rest of the evening to do as I pleased!!! I could read books, I could watch TV, I could spend the time making a real dinner and not just a bowl of cereal! Plus, I would be getting PAID for the things I�d be doing...I cannot imagine that! Currently, I live 24 hr. days. I don�t ever stop, I don�t ever have down time. When I�m not in class or at work, I�m doing something for one of my classes or another extracurricular activity. I even have to schedule sleep...it sucks.

I LOVE college for the opportunities it presents...I love being a student and having access to facilities and knowledge. I love the craziness, as much as I hate it. But the longer I�m here (and I�m almost gone), I�m realizing that the education one receives from attending college has very, very little to do with academics. It has to do with life, learning to handle it all, learning to become your own person, learning to deal with others, learning the unfortunate truth that life is neither necessarily fair, nor necessarily fun. It all depends on how you choose to life it.

This school frustrates me so much sometimes! It�s as though this school only knows how to breed small dreams. �We�ll teach you how to become anything you want, as long as it involves working in and solely around a Church of Christ related occupation�. That�s what the school�s motto should be...�cause that�s what it practically is as it is... But I have larger dreams! and I feel as though this school has not helped me in any way. sometimes I feel that anything that I�ve learned here is only because I taught myself how to do it. What was the point of me going to college anyways? I could have four years of �real world � experience under my belt by now...have these four years been only a waste?

I don�t want to be bitter. I don�t want to hate college, nor this school. I want to take advantage of all that I can while I�m here. But I can�t help but feel that there has got to be more to life than this. The �real world� has got to be better, or at least more stable. Am I counting down the days? Yes! (36 days of class!) Am I going to celebrate and get drunk at the graduation parties? Probably. Am I going to look back on these college days and miss them? That I cannot say...

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