So, as I was reading an OSU sports blog (one I greatly recommend visiting if you like Oklahoma State sports), the blogger mentioned that today is the first day of school for many college students, including OSU. The blog had a poll regarding how we feel now that summer is over, and one of the answers was “I have a job, I’d walk a 5k on broken glass for 1 more semester of college”.
As someone who now has a job and is out of college, this is a viewpoint to definitely consider.
College was a lot of fun. I was on my own and pretty much independent. I wasn’t a party animal at all, but I rarely went to bed before 1 or 2 am, and the dorms (sorry, residence halls) were a lot of fun, as I hung out in the Parker Hall lounge or played foosball. Although I was flat broke, usually going to Denny’s to order a side of fries, I had a lot of fun.
College was also a great time of mental stimulation. Whether it was the classroom, an opinion article in the O’Colly, or a discussion in the lounge, I was faced with all sorts of viewpoints different from my own and had my faith challenged. It was in college that I started to have a passion to follow along with my aptitude for math, and learned basic ideas about how the universe worked in Physics 1. It was also then that, through the O’Colly and some comic strips posted on someone’s door, that many libertarian ideas of mine started to take root, although lying dormant for 4 years.
Most importantly, I met my wife there. I remember when I first met her, although we didn’t start dating for a year after that. She is definitely the greatest thing that happened to me at OSU (although 2002 Bedlam was pretty sweet too). I sometimes look at my life and feel that, if this was a movie, she’s my happy ending.
That takes me to where I am now. Now I have a job. I can afford to order a full meal at Denny’s. This stage of life doesn’t have the spontaneity of college life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I now have my wonderful wife and two great kids. I also have a job that I enjoy, one that challenges me. While college was great, and sometimes I miss what it offers, that was in the past, a season of my life. Now I enjoy this one.
