Penn Sate Behrend
College is about learning. It's not as simple as
learning whatever it is that's being taught in your required
gen-ed classes, though. It's about learning how to
listen, how to speak, how to think. Learning who you are, who
your friends are, the type of people you want as friends.
Learning how to trust your innermost feelings, and how
to find those feelings in the first place. It's about
learning what's really important to you, and learning
what you really don't give a damn about. College is about
learning how to tolerate, how to accept, how to like,
and how to love. Learning how to give as well as you
receive, and how to trust that everything will even itself out on
its own (you buy a pizza one night, your roommate will
the next night). It's about learning that your mom and
dad actually do have the right answers sometimes, and
that your kid sister isn't such a dumb little kid anymore.
College is about learning how to treat people as people,
not as stereotypes. Learning that sometimes a kiss isn't
just a kiss, that sometimes it means more, and that
sometimes it means less. Learning how to achieve, how to
succeed, how to accomplish. It's about learning how to
not come in first place and still be proud, and about coming
in last and learning how to admit that you could've done
better. College is about learning that loud parties
don't necessarily mean a good time. Learning that
loneliness doesn't go away in a crowd, and that
sometimes it's okay to be by yourself on a friday or saturday
night. It's about learning that your lunchtime crowd doesn't
constitute your popularity, and that popularity is all a
matter of perspective. It's about learning that boredom
is simply laziness of the mind, and that watching three
hours of Thursday night NBC is not quality relaxation time.
College is about learning how to pack a bag, how to pack
a car, and how to pack a room full of way too much stuff.
Learning that people probably like you a whole lot more
than they'll ever tell you, and that it's your
responsibility to make sure your friends know how much
you appreciate them. It's about learning that simply doing
what you're supposed to do isn't enough, you need to put
forth twice that much in order to fully grasp whatever it is
that's sitting in front of you. It's about learning how to make
people smile. College is about learning how to miss people
enough to not stick them in the past, and how to not miss
them so much that it keeps you from moving
into the future. Learning how to motivate yourself and how
to motivate others. Learning how what the phrase "make
do" means, and how to use it to make it seem as if
you're not simply "making do." It's about how to swear in all
the different languages of your class/floor/dorm/housemates.
College is about learning. Learning how to live.
Top Ten Reasons College is Like Preschool
Email: lmr174@psu.edu