For most people my age, college has always been apart of the plan. It’s hard to think of myself doing anything other than studying for exams and worrying about the numerous papers I have to write. As students, we are here to further our studies, to better educate ourselves, and to hopefully graduate with a job.
But, it is becoming more common in post-graduation world that jobs aren’t guaranteed after college, so where does that leave the 3,000 students in my graduating class? College has changed so much over the years, but here’s what it’s really like being a 21st-century college student.
Being a 21st-century college student means worrying about loans, all the time. If you’re one of the lucky few who has a full ride or has substantial amounts of scholarships, I’m very jealous of you.
Education is a privilege in the United States, I’m lucky enough to have parents who will cosign on loans and help me in any way they can, but it’s still stressful. When I graduate college, I will have a large amount of debt that could hinder my ability to do anything and I’m not even guaranteed a job.
Being a 21st-century college student means living in a bubble. Constantly worrying about classes, organizations I’m involved in, my friends and other things take up the majority of my day. I find that when I’m at college I don’t listen or read news as much as I do when I’m home, even though I get news updates on my phone.
Being a 21st-century college student means stress. I thought in high school my life was stressful, but being 4 hours away from home with a larger workload is an entirely different story. I am a walking ball of stress.
Just when I finish an assignment and decide to watch an episode on Netflix, another assignment replaces it. I obviously knew that going to college would mean a heavy workload, but I often find myself stressing over future classes I have to take. You really can’t win.
But, being a 21st-century college student means, as it always has, finding yourself. Despite the difficult aspects of college, there are also some really great aspects, too. Finding yourself and potentially some of your life-long friends is so exciting, something I would never trade.
Learning how to handle myself in numerous situations as well as learning to become a real adult is pivotal to being successful after graduation. Being a 21st-century college student has a lot of downfalls, but has a lot of benefits, I wouldn’t trade these 4 years of my life for anything else.
