I love college. No, not for any of the reasons mentioned in that Asher Roth song. I love class; I love my professors; I love the challenge of homework (despite my whining); I love the reward of a good grade; I love the people I’ve met here; I love working out my brain and still having the time with a flexible college schedule to actually hit the gym.
But, in less than a month, my undergrad experience will be over, and I can never get it back. I’ll never take that economics class I promised myself. I won’t have the time to tackle a third independent study with one of my favorite philosophy professors. I can read on my own time and maybe even audit a class in the future, but never again will I be a member of an academic community as I am right now. As I enter into a new chapter of my life, I’ll find new things that interest me, new challenges to face and hopefully continue to be surrounded by friends and peers who keep me thinking.
Looking back and remembering the kid I was in September 2010, as opposed to the woman I am today, I’m impressed. I came to college viewing it as a limbo between high school and the rest of my life. I didn’t love school, and I feared becoming nothing more than a test-score in a mix of 16,000 students here at Boston University. I held ridiculous, unfounded views on a number of topics. I thought professors were distant authoritative figures in robes.
Today, school excites me. Waking up early, not so much, but I feel like I’m actively bettering myself every time I walk out of a class. I’ve learned more about the world, and myself and yet I’m leaving with the understanding that I really don’t ‘know’ much of anything. That’s ok. College has been spent learning and asking questions, but I’d be wrong to say I’ve got everything figured out, and I’m hoping to use that sense of self as I enter into the “real world.” My professors have become my friends and not my wardens. My success in college, academically and in my extra-curricular activities, sores above what I expected for myself walking into my first class freshman year.
I’ll continue to make to-do lists. I’ll keep in touch with my professors. I’ll introduce myself to new philosophers and theorists on my own time, and surround myself with people who just might be able to answer my questions.
Unsurprisingly, I’m finding it much more challenging to sum up how much I’ve enjoyed the last three and a half years than any of the philosophy papers I’ve written or reporting I’ve done. I’ve heard college sets you up for the rest of your life, so if this is just the launch pad, I’m in for a really fun journey.
Kira Cole 