At the end of high school, it seems like everyone you know will tell you that you’re heading into the best years of your life. When I was in high school, I believed it. Looking at everyone else, it seemed like they were having some cool experiences. Going into college, I was looking forward to the “best” years of my life.

My college experience has not been typical: most kids go to one four-year university and stay there; I started out at a two-year community college and transferred to a four-year institution. When most of my other classmates headed off to live in dorms at universities, I stayed at home and drove a few miles to the community college, and even worked at the same job I’d had all through high school.

After I got into college life, I began to question this philosophy. Why is college the best four years of your life? What is it about the college experience that trumps the other years of your life?

Don’t get me wrong; college is a great experience. But while I was at community college, I often wondered if I was missing out because I hadn’t started at a four year university like everyone else. I thought that maybe I would find out what everyone was talking about once I got to my next college.

Now that I’m here, at that four-year institution and in the midst of the “best” years of my life, I find the whole idea depressing. How sad is it to graduate college and assume that life is only going to go downhill? Now that I’m over halfway through college, I’ve given a lot of thought to my future: what I want to do, see, and experience. I am optimistic, and I’m excited for a life where I can be in a career that makes me happy and do things that I’ve been dreaming about for forever, like traveling across the country, getting married, and having more time to focus on my writing.

I thought I was alone in this, since it seems like everyone believes that college is the “best.” But recently, I was talking with my roommate about future life plans, and she randomly said:

“Everyone says that college is the best years of your life, but I don’t agree with that. I’m looking forward to after college when I’m doing what I love at my job and living my life.”

Furthermore, I heard a speaker recently who graduated from the college where I’m at now. She talked about her professional life, which involved changing careers a lot. When asked about this, she said:

“I keep thinking that the career I’m in now is the best, so life has just gotten better and better.”

(She also mentioned that life gets better after college.)

Even though I’m in college, I believe that this won’t be the best time of my life. Actually, I don’t want it to be. I no longer think that there’s something wrong with me or where I’m at for not thinking I’m in my prime right now. I see college as an experience that is preparing me for my career and my life. When I graduate, I don’t want to say that my best years are behind me; I will say that they are ahead of me.