College is the ship that sails you from young adulthood to full-blown adulthood. Free from the restrictions of your parents' home, and not yet bound by the restrictions of the workplace or "real world," college acts as a vacation from reality.
True, college can be used to prepare for the real world, to hold part- or full-time jobs, and to lay the foundation for future successes. But let's not forgot about all the ways that simply going to college is an incredible luxury.
1. "All expenses paid"
Both cruises and college can be prohibitively expensive, which makes attendance a privilege. Is there something inherently wrong with this system? Probably.
No matter how you financed this semester, the fact remains that it has been financed. No matter how you get on the ship, once you board, there's a host of things that have already been paid for that you can choose to accept or reject.
Since you've paid for tuition, you can take the courses you like best, within the classes offered and required by your major. If you want to take the easier class, even though you've paid for the option of taking the harder class, you can do that. Since you've paid for X number of meals, within those meals, you can eat whatever you want. In a way, you've paid for the broccoli, but no one's going to stop you from going for the French fries instead.
2. Non-stop activities -- intellectual and otherwise
Both at college and on cruise ships, the activities come to you. Colleges host speakers, networking events, dance programs, theater shows, counseling workshops and formals.
In terms of the quantity, frequency and scope of ways to engage in culture and academic life, college is unparalleled. If you want to Netflix and chill in your stateroom, that's cool. But don't forget to look around! There are most likely lots of exciting people to meet, talks to learn from, or shows to see.
3. Punishments aren't a thing
Both cruises and colleges follow the laws that apply to them, but these institutions typically have their own sets of rules and proceedings.
College shields students from facing the consequences of the real world in a lot of ways. For example, colleges punish students with "education" or one-semester suspensions for crimes that the real world would leverage fines or jail time for. (Is this problematic sometimes? Definitely.)
Second chances abound in college, even when you mess up. For better or worse, the college system provides a way for students to learn from these experiences -- and to shirk responsibility for them for just a little bit longer until they get to the real world.
4. Reading is the main event
At any cruise or college, you'll find most people sitting and reading. This might sound boring, but consider this activity in a new light. Both cruise and college environments give participants time to learn about things they find cool. That's it -- that's all they have to do.
In college, you can read about the things you think are cool all day, every day, until you decide you know enough and move on. Many of us dream of days where we can sit on the beach and read about the things that interest us. Is sitting and reading about these things in an academic context all that different?
5. Frequent naps
There are only two places where public, intermittent naps are permitted: cruises and colleges. Cruises because of old people, colleges because of parties and finals.
6. Subscribe to, or shun fashion, at will
Both on cruises and at college, dressing weirdly is the standard. Cruises involve people wearing all kinds of tourist gear -- fanny packs, cargo shorts with no shirts, and, for the working tourist, business suits when it's 90 degrees. In college people wear fancy dresses for breakfast, sweatpants for presentations, and blazers for Halloween.
Also, in college, there's no "low bar" to meet or exceed in terms of what you wear. If there's any standard of dress, it would be this: you do you.
7. Pick a country and go there
Both colleges and cruise ships can literally take you to new places. For students that study abroad, college provides the opportunity to experience a new culture while getting educated in a way that's unique to where you're studying. For students staying on campus, a college education could lead to a job with travel benefits, or a fellowship in a different country, or, for international students, a four-year stay away from home.
