It’s true that college is a bubble. Stepping onto a college campus is like stepping into an alternate universe. You immediately feel comfortable and excited, and happily immersed in the campus culture. I think that part of the reason college campuses are such successful learning hubs is that the college itself is intriguing; you find yourself interested in knowing more about its history, its strengths and the quirky qualities that make each college different. Take my alma mater – how many universities do you know that have a smoke stack that is as tall as a football field is long? One? Fitchburg State would be that one.
You’ll miss the atmosphere of college. The outside world is not nearly as forgiving when you occasionally decide to act like an idiot (we’ve all been there) and the comforting feeling that you are supported and always have a safety net beneath you ultimately disappears. Academia wants college students to be successful – that’s why the safety net exists, and why we’re allowed to make mistakes during our college years. It’s not exactly a dog-eat-dog world on college quads. If you don’t have any food because you’re being cheap that week, there’s always the dining hall and probably a Subway; and if you can’t register for the class you need, you know that there will probably be another section of that class opened and you won’t have to worry. You’re pretty well taken care of.
You’ll miss the opportunities. Sure, there’s lots to do out here but it’s not as accessible and there’s no one blowing up your email to remind you of the (FREE!) events right on campus that you don’t even have to drive to. You can chuck the word “free” right out of your vocabulary as soon as you get that degree, because everything you do costs something. And it’s even more than just the campus events you go to for funzies – the professional development opportunities available at colleges are unbelievable. Some of my best memories are the Admissions conferences and forums I went to as a student worker, and I didn’t have to worry about the registration, the fee or the transportation. Not a darn thing. I just had to show up, and I walked away with the skills and resources I needed to pursue a career in higher education, as well as a nice resume builder. And here I am. We all owe a lot to the people who make these things possible for us.
And you’ll miss the little stupid things, like your laptop freezing up on class registration day and narrowly avoiding the Frisbees flying all over campus. I actually miss eating dining hall food. Not because I like dining hall food - who does - but because I got used to seeing the same people, and smiling at everyone that walked by because it was truly the strongest sense of community I've experienced in my life.
We’ll all look back on the days of carrying dripping shower caddies down the hall while you struggle to hold up your towel or having six floor fans spread out across your room because it’s so damn hot in those dorms, and we’ll laugh. And cry.
What I would do to end up in Campus Pizza at 2 a.m. just one more time (if they had figured out that they should stay open until at least 2am on the weekends a little sooner).
What you’ll miss most is feeling like you have all the time in the world, and to figure out what your true purpose is. It’s the most selfish time of your life, but for the right reasons. You’ll miss the good vibes – plain and simple. “Ikigai” is the word for “reason for being” or “what gets you up in the morning”. Ikigai is your purpose in life, and college is your time to decide what that will be; many us leave college a completely different person from the person we were when we came in. If that happens to you, then you did it right. The power that college has to change your life and your entire being is what I miss most.
College seems to be an endless cycle of fall and spring semesters, and for a while you think that it will go on forever. But suddenly, you’re a second-semester senior and your life as you’ve know it for twenty-two years flashes before your eyes - the moment it's all about to come to an end is the moment you realize that those four years were the best ones yet.
