College is an interesting place. It allows for students to grow and change and develop over time. It is explained to young people as a haven in which you can become whomever you wish to be. In this new world, you are completely free. Being a freshman, new to the college realm and experiencing it with open eyes, I have to say, I am a bit disappointed. Not surprised, mind you, but dissatisfied nonetheless. The fairy tale stories of higher education, told to me when I was a child, depicted college as almost a magical land. The idea of leaving behind everything that you’ve ever known and embarking on a journey that will change you forever sounded so romantic to my young ears. This place, however, is in fact rooted in reality. The beautiful scenic images of freedom and fun are nothing but mirages brought on by the desire to “grow up.”

College is what it has always been: a subculture of society. Walking through the gates of a university does not magically transform you or anyone else into a better person. The darkness and grim realities of life are as prevalent here as they ever were. Perhaps, in fact, they are more so. That isn’t to say that I despise college or view it as a negative experience. It, by condensing the larger scale problems of our society into a small scope, shows students what the world is really like. In our days of adolescence, the dream of adulthood was just that, a dream. College is the first step on the journey into our futures. But, I am still disappointed.

It might have been naive of me to believe that merely changing locations would impact the severity of reality. College, as a concept, was so difficult to grasp before actually experiencing it. It was horrifying and mysterious and so elusive that I, barely older than a child, could never quite grasp it. And, in experiencing college first-hand, I have realized that college is not an escape from life. That has only added to my confusion. If this is true, as I see it to be, why then do so many student’s desire to never leave the walls and halls of their colleges? If college is but a microcosm of society, a small-scale example of life, it should then reflect the overall experience of “living in the real world.” College is not a shelter. It has, over time, become a sort of prison that we ourselves have volunteered to suffer. It doesn't have to be a prison, however. If we, as students, viewed our college campuses as merely places to learn, not protective castles, we could transcend the boundaries of higher learning and view the principle and knowledge we gain as a portion of our adult lives. College is not a buffer between childhood and adulthood. It does not give students the excuse of being lazy or immature. College is an extension of the grown-up world we all desired as children. We then should learn to embrace it as such.