Best years of my life? I hope not

By Kevin Kane

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There are several things said to college students before they head off to campus for the first time. Parents, relatives and other grownups offer snippets of advice ranging from “Study hard” to “Make sure you don’t get caught.” They’re all clichés, but most offer at least some wisdom. [ad#single-post]However there is one recommendation that, despite its popularity, I do not understand. Many undergrads are told, “Enjoy your time in college, because these will be the best years of your life.” I certainly hope not. Sure, there are a few things about college life that I may miss months from now, but I can list them all on one hand. Other than a few friends and the occasional party, what is there to miss? Should I miss the task of balancing school work with my $10-per-hour job? How about driving a car that doubles as a spa when it rains? Or there’s always the overpriced Bloomington apartment where my walk-in closet of a bedroom is one of the few places without signs of water damage. If these are the best years of our lives, then it would seem more fitting for us to drink special Kool-Aid in matching tennis shoes on graduation day then to throw our caps in celebration. After all, our lives have peaked at 22, right? But we don’t call it quits. We toss our caps to rejoice that, after years of work, things should be finally be getting better for us — not worse. Anyone seriously going into college with the mindset “It’s all downhill after this” is enrolled for the wrong reasons. We go through college to give ourselves a chance at a better life after graduation. We don’t want jobs; we’re looking for careers with better wages and higher ceilings. That’s our light at the end of the tunnel, our reason for completing four years of hard work only to come out thousands in debt. We go through it all to get that degree — not because being on the “downward slope” of life is a common job requirement. College isn’t mandatory. We could have opted to skip the extra schooling and go straight to work, avoiding a few years where the food pyramid was consolidated to include only items that are both microwaveable and under a dollar. Our bank accounts would have been healthier and our free time more abundant. It would have been easier for awhile, but we were looking down the road. Can we enjoy our time at school? Sure. College isn’t all work and no play. I’m not miserable at school by any means, but I’m running through this academic maze fueled by the belief that there is an official, university-issued block of cheese awaiting me. If not for that, I’d have no reason to be here. The good times aren’t that good. College is an experience unlike any other, but the best years of your life? If by “best” you mean most stressful, most expensive and most testing, then college is clearly unbeatable, but I don’t think those who hype it have this in mind. Personally, I’m restlessly counting down the remaining “best” days of my life in anticipation of beginning the better ones.

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