I’ve been a college student for over a month now and I can already feel the struggle. Even though it’s hard to keep track of my life, there are incontestably amazing things about college. First of all, everyone can generally wear what they want and no one cares. The classes are actually interesting. It’s so great to have a class that actually teaches you things you didn’t already know. There’s food everywhere during most times of the day, like an endless buffet of food to choose from. But the best thing about college life is the people. College students, professors, bus drivers, cooks, receptionists; they’re all good. College feels to me like a utopian society of young, tired people who are trying to get their lives together.
It’s so odd and refreshing to be sitting on the bus in non-awkward silence and strangers just start conversations. Never before have I actually had interesting encounters with strangers. Thirty minutes before writing this story I went to the Crimson Corner at the HC and bought a FReal. The guy behind the counter was giving it to me and said “FReal” and I said “No, Fr Fake.” His faced dropped playfully, and in comic dismay he stared into the distance and said “Fine, here’s your stupid milkshake.” It was honestly one of the best moments of my life.
I have never interacted with so many people. Some days I go back to my dorm socially exhausted, which is a strange feeling since in my home town people never really spoke with people outside their clique. I got weird looks from people at the high school swim table in the cafeteria when I tried to interview them for the school newspaper.
My professors are interesting, too. Unlike high school teachers, they come from all over the country. They make class fun, are passionate about what they’re teaching, and are some of the only adults I know who understand and are willing to adjust to new generations’ points of view. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling when a Baby Boomer or someone from Generation X doesn’t think I’m worthless or lazy.
The maturity level here is also amazing. I have yet to be bullied here, everyone is allowed to express their opinions without getting roasted and literally no one mentions how I look unless it’s good. I love that I don’t recognize hardly anyone here. It’s amazing to go outside and see different faces every day as opposed to the same hundred that I’ve known my entire life.
The people are also extremely diverse in their beliefs, ethnicities, races and senses of humor. I’ve learned so much about the world in the very short amount of time I’ve been here. Most of all, I’ve learned that the world is so big and interesting, and most of us see so little of it. I’m grateful for my fellow students who have shown me pieces of this wide, diverse world.