Over and over again I’ve heard it said by professors, parents, and other older adults in my life. It’s that strange, out of place, yet somehow intensely daunting phrase: “The Real World.” I’ve even heard it uttered by members of my own generation: young people who seem to think that the last 18 to 22 years of their life have been something other than reality.
It’s not that I don’t understand the expression, rooted in the idea of unending responsibility and 9-to-5 workdays, but here’s the thing: I disagree with it. I know that people will say that college students, and in particularly, perhaps, Kenyon Students, live in a bubble. While I don’t wholly disagree with this statement, I think it’s preposterous to assume that because we are young adults living on a college campus that somehow our experience of life is something less than genuine.
At 20 years old, I have filed my own taxes, held down a full-time job, and consistently know my credit score. For many people, these are hallmarks of “real” adulthood. However, I know there are people twice my age who have never worked a day in their life, or filed taxes for themselves. Yet, is their experience somehow inauthentic? That’s the thing—everyone’s experience of life is completely different. If we say that we need to be a certain age or complete certain goals to achieve true reality, we are trivializing individualized experiences of the world.
If we say that young people will soon be living in the “real world” we are implying that whatever we are doing right now is unimportant, that whatever we do, no matter how large, it is somehow lesser because we are young. Where are the lines between the “real world” and whatever it is I’m living now? Is there a checklist somewhere I need to complete to gain access to this new and exciting existence?
I’m not saying that college students know everything—but I also don’t think that age is a good quantification for knowledge. Every day on campus, we are extending our capacities. Our lives are full of responsibility and decision-making. Some may say that these processes are preparing us for the “real world,” but I say this is the real world. Whatever your experience of the world is, whether you’re in college or not, whether you’ve been able to do a lot or a little during your life so far, don’t let your history be tainted by ideas of idealized actuality.
Let’s stop saying “The Real World”: chose a different phrase or avoid it all together. You’re downgrading the experience of young people and making life from this point forward seem less than desirable, as if to get our license to participate in “The Real World” we must turn in our freedom and all things we find exciting. I challenge you to ignore these (possibly unintentionally) ageist implications and to move forward into the next years of life unafraid to face a different form of the reality in which you are already living.
Image Credit: 4 Suitcases, Faith for Daily Living