A Little College Nostalgia

Well, a month has come and gone since that eventful day when I walked across the stage on the Grove City College Quad and accepted my diploma. In that month since, seldom a day has gone by that I have not thought back to the great times that I had during those four short years.

As my friends and I have gone our separate ways and immersed ourselves in the process of trying to take life seriously, I wanted to take a second to reminisce. At no other point in my life will I have the opportunity to live with all of my best friends for an extended period of time. Hopefully my friends and I will have the ability to reconvene every year or so at a beach house, but the days of living like family with my friends have been extinguished. And while I am certainly disappointed that those times have passed me by, I will eagerly and excitedly look forward to our reunions.

More than think about the times that have passed me by, though, I wanted to write about the great memories that I made and the great times that will surely come.

While college provided me with one of the greatest growing experiences one could ask for, I felt more than adequately prepared to become an engaged citizen of the "real world." Sure college was mildly difficult, but in no way was Grove City the "real world."

My walk in the "real world" offers many opportunities that I am anxious to experience. Without any pre-conceived thought or interest, I managed to graduate college with an awesome girlfriend. With slightly more thought and interest, I also managed to graduate college with a great job. Finally, with perhaps the most thought and interest, I graduated college with a group of some of the best friends a person could ask for. With these amazing parts of my life set, I am now ready to seize the day.

Now you may be wondering what parts of college I am missing the most. Well, college offers a unique situation in which you can openly go to a bar for lunch with the sole intention of drinking until inebriation and no one seems to judge you. Conversely, you spend a lot more weekends sleeping away the day and being utterly unproductive.

A college education would not be well-rounded without a glut of personal learning experiences. Playing lacrosse on a whim my senior year offered me a chance to meet a great group of people and play some great competition with virtually no playing experience. Drinking beer with alumni taught me the value of moderation and how to have a strong will. Dealing with self-righteous, judgmental Grovers taught me to value the opinions of those that matter and not those that think of themselves as superior. And finally, intramural sports taught me the need to maintain a calm head during all competition.

I urge each and everyone of you to take the time to truly enjoy the college experience. Value each and every moment that you have living with your best friends, all the time that you spend sleeping through class because you were out late bonding with friends, and try to learn something during your four short years.

If you have any good stories or advice that you want to share, post them in the comments, I'd love to hear them.