Things I Miss About School | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Things I Miss About School

The maudlin musings of a graduate.

157
Things I Miss About School
https://c2.staticflickr.com

A few months ago I graduated college. Although I am going to go to graduate school in the next year or two, at the moment I am no longer a student. For the first time since I was five years old my days are bereft of time in class, homework, and required reading. While it is a relief to not have homework anymore, I still miss it. All of it.

1. I miss having variety in my day.

There is something mentally stimulating about having four different classes a day, alternating days for classes, and extracurriculars afterward. Even if I had a boring class, I never had to be bored for more than an hour and a half a day. As a non-student adult, you can be bored for more than eight hours a day, every day.

2. Having friends right around the corner.

My friends in college were entertaining, compassionate, dramatic people. When I was around them I was never bored and I could always prevail upon someone to talk to me if I wanted to. While friends at work can be just as good, it is completely different. For one, they probably don’t live within walking distance of you.

3. The excitement of potentiality.

When you’re in school, there is no pressure on you to be anything, because you are working on becoming something. When you’re a non-student adult, everyone expects you to be something or to be on a career track to becoming something specific. When you’re not or if you didn’t manage to figure out what you wanted to be in school, it can skew your outlook on life to a negative direction.

4. Theatre

While not everyone participates in theatre while in school, it was one of my favorite things in the world. It still is. Where I’m currently living, however, there is no theatre. (Not even community theatre). I have no outlet for my theatrical energy and, even if I did, I’m more of a theatre academic than anything useful. I may have watched “Shrek: The Musical” the other day and cried when I saw the theatre equipment and flats. God, I miss theatre magic.

5. Having a "respectable" definition.

When people inevitably ask what you’re doing with your life, it’s nice to have something to say to them that they will respect. Everyone respects the title of student, even if they don’t personally like students. The title says you’re intelligent, that you’re learning, that you are working to have a career one day. After you graduate, if you don’t have a job you like right away, your definition may suddenly become “unemployed” or “nighttime stocker.” While there is nothing wrong with those definitions, the snobbier people in your life may feel differently and there is nothing like passive aggressive "supportive" comments to erode one’s self esteem.

6. Campus food.


Campus food is often questionable, yes, but it is always there for you when you don’t want/don’t have time to make meals for yourself, and you get to pay with imaginary money. (i.e. pay for it later). When you’re no longer a student, there may be no one there to feed you but you and you have to take it out of money from your actual bank.

7. Starbucks


My college had a Starbucks and a Starbucks sponsored café before that. I love Starbucks coffee. It’s not too sweet (unless I want it to be) and they have the best tasting organic soymilk ever. Whenever I wanted coffee in college, I could walk to the campus center. Now, I have to drive an hour away. (Even Dunkin Donuts is a half hour away)

8. Dorm life.

I also really liked living in the dorms. I had a single room with beautiful wood floors. The cleaning staff in the dorm was awesome, so I only had to worry about my room/my possessions. Now, I have to add other rooms to my list of cleaning and that eats up time. If I don’t do it, I have to look at the mess. It was also nice that there were a ton of other people living in the dorms. I never had to feel alone. I could find a friend to talk to or assure myself that the noise I heard was just a drunken hockey player.

9. Being excused for not knowing what I’m doing

When you’re a college student and mess up during an internship or at a paper or something, forgiveness is handed to you fairly readily, because everyone knows that you’re just starting out. You don’t know everything yet and you will learn from your mistakes. When you’re no longer in school, you’re kinda expected to have yourself together.

10. Living with parents, but not living with parents.

When you’re in college, provided you’re not a commuter, you often simultaneously live on campus and with your parents. You visit your parents some weekends and on holidays, but otherwise you are at college. You have independence, but you can also go home and pretend that you are still a kid. When you’re no longer in college, you either feel like a loser for continuing to live with your parents or have to be on your own full time.

11. Having a sense of purpose.


Yeah, maybe you’re going to your dream job every day. That is wonderful, if that’s the case. But often, when you first leave school, you feel like your sense of purpose has evaporated. In school, that purpose was passing your classes, figuring yourself out, graduating, and then building a career. If you graduate and can’t immediately find a job that you love, your sense of purpose can evaporate like smoke.

In conclusion, I am heartsick for school. It was a haven of self-exploration and learning that I know I will never experience again, because graduate school is different. From now on, I have to continue to work to find myself and build a career that will give me a sense of purpose and direction.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
girl
Pexels

In case you're unaware, "resting bitch face" is the term used to describe when a person's natural, expressionless face makes it look like they are mad at the world. Whether they are walking down the street or simply spacing out thinking about what to eat for dinner, it's very easy for others to assume that this person is either upset or mad at them. Because of this, those of us with Resting Bitch Face (RBF), and especially us women, have all experienced many of the same situations and conversations, including:

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

The Stages Of A Crush As Told By The Cast of "Bob's Burgers"

We all go through certain stages when we have a crush, Tina just explains it better.

953
my heart just pooped its pants
Google

We've all had a crush before. Whether it leads to something or nothing, the process has all been the same. The awkward feelings, the stalking, and the stress of trying to keep this huge secret. The feeling of becoming a total spazz is something that cannot be avoided, and the most spazzy family that can relate to this feeling is the Belcher's.

Keep Reading...Show less
you didnt come this far to only come this far lighted text
Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

At the tender age of 18, we are bestowed with the title of “adult.” For 17 years, we live under the rules and guidelines of our parents, school, and government, and to stray from any of those rules or guidelines marks us as a rebel. At 18, though, we must choose which college we want to go to or what career we want. We are allowed and encouraged to vote. We can buy lottery tickets and cigarettes. We can drop out of school, leave our household, and do other "adult" things. At 18, we start down a path of thinking for ourselves, when for the entirety of our lives other institutions have been mandated to think and do for us.

Keep Reading...Show less
university
University of Nebraska at Omaha

Creating your schedule for the upcoming semester can be an exciting process. You have the control to decide if you want to have class two-days a week or five-days a week. You get to check things off of your requirement checklist. It's an opportunity for a fresh start with new classes (which you tell yourself you'll never skip.) This process, which always starts out so optimistic, can get frustrating really quickly. Here are 25 thoughts you have when registering for classes.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

10 Thoughts Of A 5th Year Senior

What about those of us who don't do it all in four years?

1867
college shirt
pointsincase.com

"College will be the best four years of your life" is a phrase that we have all heard growing up. College is painted as a magical place to us while we are in high school. A place you go to learn, meet your best friends and probably have the time of your life while all of this is going down. Four whirlwind years, where everything that you've known changes and you start to learn what it means to live on your own, have a job, etc. But what about those of us who don't do this all in four years? Major changes, hard courses, switching schools, career paths changing, these are just a handful of factors that could extend your four years to five, six or seven. There is nothing wrong with taking extra time to graduate, but returning as a fifth-year is a little different. Most of your best friends have most likely graduated and moved and while you may be one of the oldest undergraduates on campus, you might feel as awkward as a freshmen. A world that became home and comfortable to you is still there but it's slightly different than you've known it to be and you have to find a groove to fall into. These are thoughts you'll have as you look ahead to returning to your college campus, with a victory lap planned.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments