“These are the best four years of your life.” We’ve all heard it countless times, whether from realities, older friends, or just adults in general, it has been burned into our heads. I’ve always thought this made perfect sense. I mean, hey, we’re young, smart, capable, and energetic people all looking to do our best. With the crazy amount of opportunities at college, from hundreds of clubs to football games, and not to mention academics, why wouldn’t this be the best four years of our lives?
Last week, I asked my Creative Nonfiction professor a question after class. We had to leave the classroom because a new class needed to come in. So, we made our way into the hallway of Stokes and sat on a bench together and began to talk. At first, we talked about my piece that I’ve been working on for over a month for this class. But then, our conversation took a more philosophical turn. For two and a half hours every Wednesday evening, my class delves into writing creatively about real life events that each of us has experienced. This class consists of just fifteen people all whom are very talented writers. We write on the spot, never putting our pens down, and then we read aloud what we’ve crafted in such a short time. Our class writing consists of raw, human, genuine emotion that usually elicits a very intimate reaction from those who hear our words.
It is in this class workshop that we touch upon a topic that is not often talked about in our other academic courses: our lives. Shouldn’t our own life experiences be just as an important discussion topic as World War I is? What about marketing strategies? Even Aristotle? We talk about the impact of other people and what they have done to affect our world. But what about the world we live in now?
This brought my professor and me to an interesting point. Why don’t more BC classes combine the academic content with students’ experiences? We pondered this question, and after a few moments my professor looked at me and asked, “Have you ever been told that these will be the best four years of your life?” I shook my head yes in response. “Well, my dear, whoever told you that is so very, very wrong.”
You see, classes and life matters don’t mix very much on a college campus. As students, we neglect to acknowledge that there is a world outside of the BC that actually exists and moves forward whether we have a midterm to study for or not. So no, these shouldn’t be the best four years of your life. Instead, they should be a time when we completely immerse ourselves in learning, not just only academic content, but also about our own lives. These four years should be great, but they don’t have to be. They sure as hell don’t need to be the best four years of your entire life.
Life is much greater than what we see every day on and around campus. Sure, BC is a wonderful place and we are all extremely grateful to be here, but that does not mean that our lives won’t get better. Aren’t we supposed to be preparing for a lifetime career? Going to set the world aflame? Even our own school acknowledges that there is so much more to life than college. Enjoy your four years at BC, take in all the learning you can, but know that life is out there and it’s waiting for us to make the best of it.
Photo Sources
http://www.bostonherald.com/photos/boston_college_graduation_ceremony
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anangie-martinez/choosing-a-college_b_3278…
http://www.straighterline.com/blog/english-composition-important-college-course-youll-ever-take/