Back to School

There are many things to like about Fall. Falling leaves. Cooler weather. Corn mazes. Football. Those things are all great but Fall just isn't Fall if you don't go back to school. 

I attended Utah State University for four years. That was my biggest mistake. I finished college way too quickly. I have many friends from school that are still there. And yea, I'm extremely jealous of them. 

Were the cookies that good?

School was more than just fun, it was downright shocking. Some of the more shocking school memories I have were of a streaker during a screening of Star Trek (Old Spock wasn't the only one who couldn't keep his pants on), packing 70 people into my apartment for a cookie party without anyone notifying Old Farm management, and witnessing Jaycee Carroll break the all-time scoring record in the Spectrum (how that building kept from collapsing in the excitement is a huge mystery). But none of that shocked me more than the countless times I heard people say that they couldn't wait to be done with college. 

Excuse me?! I don't get it. What exactly are you looking forward to? School is as good as it gets. And that's nothing to get disappointed about. 

Seriously? Why am I smiling?!

I've heard a lot of excuses for this insanity defense. Usually people are sick of finals, homework, roommates, or going to class. The last one is my personal favorite. Going to class. Most full time students take about 15 credits. (If you're smart you'll take less, but not so you can focus more on the classes you'll have.) That means they spend about fifteen hours a week in class. That's less than most part time jobs require you to work. And it's fifteen hours spent learning about something that (hopefully) is interesting to you. After you graduate you then start (hopefully?) working. That's 40+ hours a week. So unless you don't like class because it's too short then you've got it all wrong thinking that after graduation it will be better for you. 

What about homework, studying, and finals? Yea, these three can get pretty annoying, but it's only because you're doing them at the wrong time. Friday and Saturday nights are not good times for school work. If your study group can only get together on a Saturday, you've got to quit. You're better off doing it alone. They're masochists! There are only three reasons a study group leader would want to study during prime social hours:

1. She wants you to become so disillusioned with school that you drop out thus opening up career opportunities for herself in the future.  
2. He's trying to help his roommate date your girlfriend.
3. He's trying to date you. He obviously doesn't have a clue how.

Unless your assignment is due in three hours or your project is due the next day you can always push it back to do later. You won't always have chances to participate in a city-wide snowball fight, to watch that new movie with the girls next door, or take a last minute trip to Los Angeles. 

Meet Brandon. We met him at church. He let us sleep in his house.

You will, however, always have another chance to study. Try studying during the day when you don't have class. You'll be glad you did.

College is the one time in your life when you will live within walking distance of dozens of friends. There is always somebody nearby who wants to do something and that something is usually pretty cool. If you're roommates are lame, it's a good thing you have hundreds of cool neighbors.

After school you will grow up and move out of your college neighborhood into a "normal" neighborhood. Everyone locks their door in a "normal" neighborhood. And yea, it will be pretty weird for you to just go up to some random house, knock, and ask to play. It worked when you were five. It worked when you were at college. And it won't work again until you are in a nursing home. 

Where else can you comfortably eat cereal out of a sombrero?

If having less free time, working more, and having less social opportunity is your idea of fun then by all means, keep looking forward to that blissful day of graduation. If it were possible for me to have spent even less time worrying about my classes, I wish I would have. Then maybe I would have failed them. And then I'd be happily going back to school.