An observation after all these "going to college threads"

[Mucman]

Many seem to think that college is the best time of your life, and the future is all down hill once you graduate. Why is that?

I live life knowing that the future is going to be better. The future is something you can change, and I personally mold my life so that I know betters days are coming and they are always going to get better. Why bother living if you have experienced the best that life has to offer you?

Did some of you party to hard and not get the education that you needed to get a job that you would love (and wouldn't call work)?

Anyone care to comment?

 

[mithrandir2001]

Um, tons of people your age, endless social opportunities and basically all the sex you want.

 

[diskop]

The future WILL be better. To think that the best time of your life is behind you, well, that's pretty damn pessimistic, eh?

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: diskop
The future WILL be better. To think that the best time of your life is behind you, well, that's pretty damn pessimistic, eh?

G'Kar from Babylon 5: "The future is not what it used to be.."

 

[weezergirl]

I think there are different "best of times". i mean sure...that day you get married may be the "happiest day of your life" or even when you have children.

But really, no matter what happens, you'll never have anything like your college years. It's a time when you are truly free to do what you want (aside from studying for tests) and not be tied down with a job or a family or anything else. I dunno I'm almost entering into the world world and even though I don't mind it and it can be fun, it's definitely not like college.

 

[hoihtah]

you live on loan.
that alone makes the future a worse place.

you don't have jackarse boss giving you problems...
you have certain security... as to what you'll be doing in the near future.

 

[iamme]

I think it'd because your resposibilities in college are so few. Just study, don't die, and graduate.

 

[Mucman]

So why do you need to go to college to pary anyways?

Of course college life is different, but so is every other day and oppurtunity to experience new and different things.

 

[poopaskoopa]

Because girls in college dress differently than they do in workplace. And there're no sand vb court anywhere else besides on-campus where many girls sunbathe in bikinis. Find me a place that has those 2 things and I tell you that there's a place just as good as college.

 

[Mucman]

how about a beach?

 

[gopunk]

yea, so college is great except for this little thing we call studying. well, some of us do a lot of it, which is why life will be better after school. whereas school takes up and consumes much of your life by virtue of the fact that you have to study even after school, and on the weekends, work (god willing) doesn't have to. you can come home from work and do whatever the hell you want. well provided you're not a er surgeon or business man i guess.

 

[diskop]

Originally posted by: gopunk
yea, so college is great except for this little thing we call studying. well, some of us do a lot of it, which is why life will be better after school. whereas school takes up and consumes much of your life by virtue of the fact that you have to study even after school, and on the weekends, work (god willing) doesn't have to. you can come home from work and do whatever the hell you want. well provided you're not a er surgeon or business man i guess.

Yep. I'm guessing thats why most of the people who say college is the best say it. Cause they're not studying as much as some of us.

 

[MikeO]

Why bother living if you have experienced the best that life has to offer you?

That's a good question I keep asking myself.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Mucman
Many seem to think that college is the best time of your life, and the future is all down hill once you graduate. Why is that?

personally, I don't think it's downhill. Once you start working, it means you get paid and with the right career, you command respect. You will almost never become wealthy and powerful as a mere college student. You can be if you work at it in the real world. But you must remember to work hard and to work with strategy.

Are there less girls in the real world than college? Yes. But it's nothing you can't work around. You just need to know where to spend your time to make up for the difference. And be a little more aggressive.

 

[tcsenter]

Many seem to think that college is the best time of your life, and the future is all down hill once you graduate. Why is that?

I've come to call it the "Al Bundy Complex", a variation of the "Peter Pan Complex". You know...Peter Pan was the 'boy who never grew up'? Yeah, well, Al Bundy was constantly trying to keep that moment alive when he scored four touchdowns for Polk High. That was the pinnacle of his life.

Its funny when its a situation comedy, but extremely pathetic when its a person's real life. So here's Al Bundy, 40-something, and he has not 'grown' one bit emotionally or personally since the age of 18. An 18 year-old stuck in a 40 year-old's body. Except, this isn't a situation comedy, it describes all too many REAL people.

College life is suppose to be great...when you're 21. If you still long for that life when you're 35, there is something very 'wrong' with that person's level of maturity, as though they reached the pinnacle of maturity and personal growth the night they won the chuggalug contest AND got laid in the same night.

Edit: We all have fond memories of our past. I have some very fond memories of being a 10 year-old during summer vacation, that doesn't mean I want to be 10 years old again or live in that moment for the rest of my life. They were great times because I was 10 years old. I'm not 10 years old anymore.

 

[Mucman]

OuterSquare - I am sort of looking at the wide angle of peoples view of college. Of course there are people like yourself you have an optimisitic view on the future. I am glad we share the same opinions though. I find it funny that people use girls as the most common reason! Have you ever gone to a club, and park on a sunny day, the gym? Heck I see many attractive women on the bus during my commute to work! School is just 1 of the many places to meet women.

tcsenter - I know a lot of people that are how you desrcribed... that is probably another reason I brought up this thread. It's find and dandy to remember the past and look back with fond memories (I do this frequently) but to dwell in the past is another story.

 

[kami]

It's not that life gets worse, it's just that in college you have very few responsibilities, and your potential for having carefree fun is endless. It's your last little bit of time before you gotta go be a real productive member of society. I'm guilty of saying "college is the best time of your life" but it's just more of a superficial look at it. I know the best time of my life would be when I can raise a family.

THat being said, I am gonna make every last second of this year at college count I move back in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[trmiv]

I wish I had "college years" like some people on this forum describe. I went to college, but I spent the time working full time, and going to school full time. Didn't have much time to lead the college life.

 

[dirtboy]

Because everyone knows once you graduate college you either have to become a responsible adult or fall by the wayside. For many, being on their own is a scary venture.

 

[rgwalt]

College is a great time of a young person's life because they finally have a taste of independence. There is still little responsibility because many students don't have to work their way through college. There are lots of good looking, young women. Many people are looking to "hook up". Personally though, I thought that many of the girls at school were shallow and fickle, but thats just me... I did love the freedom that I was afforded. Now that I'm in graduate school, things have changed. I have to pay bills, clean my apartment, work, etc. I do miss the freedom and lack of responsibility, but I think the future looks bright too... Settling down with a good wife, having a family, working a job that, hopefully, I'll love.

I think it is easy to build college up to being the best time of a young person's life. It is easy to forget that college is not only a growing experience, but also a tool or a stepping stone. I was there to have a good time, but also to learn. I know that sounds trite and stupid, but you shouldn't shell out $40K or more over 4 years to party. You are paying for an education that will allow you to make more money in the future.

There should always be a balance... have a good time in college, but also take time to growup and learn.

Ryan

 

[smooth1]

We do form a lot of memories in college, for better or worse, because it is a time of great change, rediscover the world at a more mature level, and for most people is their biggest challenge.

 

[tcsenter]

tcsenter - I know a lot of people that are how you desrcribed... that is probably another reason I brought up this thread. It's find and dandy to remember the past and look back with fond memories (I do this frequently) but to dwell in the past is another story.

Ideally, as you move from one 'phase' of your life to another, the transition might contain a few bumps and there will be a learning curve, but you ultimately find your peace with it and begin to appreciate what each phase has to offer. You grow, you change, and you rise to the occasion, in order to find and appreciate what is great about life.

But we're a less than ideal animal, of course. Some people accept and assume these realities gracefully, others not so gracefully, and some just fail horribly at it.

 

[Mucman]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

tcsenter - I know a lot of people that are how you desrcribed... that is probably another reason I brought up this thread. It's find and dandy to remember the past and look back with fond memories (I do this frequently) but to dwell in the past is another story.

Ideally, as you move from one 'phase' of your life to another, the transition might contain a few bumps and there will be a learning curve, but you ultimately find your peace with it and begin to appreciate what each phase has to offer. You grow, you change, and you rise to the occasion, in order to find and appreciate what is great about life.

But we're a less than ideal animal, of course. Some people accept and assume these realities gracefully, others not so gracefully, and some just fail horribly at it.

Do you find that the majority of people have discrete steps when it comes to growth? (ie graduation, 19th bday, graduating college, marriage)... almost like having a checklist for their life. After college people will be able to check that off their list. Personally I live a more continuous life (trying to apply discrete math to this is making me dizzy ). Maybe I see life as a smooth hill, while many see it as a staircase. Every step people like to mark their accomplishment with celebration, while I am gradually plodding my way up the hill soaking in every moment.

ok... I've been reading too many of Moonbeams's posts