A fair question would be, what relevance could Edwardian witticisms have on my life as a twenty-first century college student?

Well, returning from a costume exhibit in St. Augustine I paged through ‘The Wit and Wisdom of Downton Abbey’ wherein the producer’s niece, Jessica Fellowes, includes some of the award-winning show’s best lines. The apropos title of her collection earned a chuckle and reflective response from viewers and readers such as myself.

To begin, an under-butler turned village teacher, Mr. Moseley reiterates what all our parent’s say when they ship us out to university: “I believe education’s the gate that leads to any future worth having.”

As the spring semester begins to rev its engine, we need that reminder that “Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future worth having.” These words were poignantly said by Branson, the estate’s chauffeur and Irish revolutionary.

Maybe you, like me, realized that you’ve developed a phobia of fractions or formulas in general. Downton’s fiery cook, Mrs. Patmore, says “All the best people were rubbish at numbers at school,” which is certainly encouraging.

Lady Shackleton: “How can I present myself as an expert when I don’t know the facts?”
Granny Crawley: “It’s never stopped me.”

While agonizing over the inevitable essays, we will endeavor to make ourselves seem far-more researched and knowledgeable than we truly are.

Perhaps a series of difficult exams or assignments will bombard us over the coming months. We find ourselves sleep-deprived, unduly stressed and noticeably desperate. Imagine ordering your next Starbucks iced coffee at Library West or dragging yourself to an actual restaurant after a nine-hour library session and then saying this.

Anna: “What would you like me to get you?”
Edith: “A different life.”

After syllabus week, one’s planner begins to fill with deadlines that makes you, like Granny Crawley, feel inclined to ask, “What is a ‘weekend?’”

Or as the semester wanes, a wave of procrastination hits and the feisty Maggie Smith needs to kick your butt into action. Indignantly, she taps her cane, saying, “You are a woman with a brain and reasonable ability. Stop whining and find something to do!”

Before letting off some steam with a night out, you manage to litter your floor with the contents of your entire closet. Still indecisive, you lament that nothing seems to fit. They know that you haven’t been making an appearance at Student Rec or Southwest, so your friends offer you some ‘real talk.’

Sybil: “Golly, my corset’s tight. Anna, when you’ve done that, could you be an angel and loosen it a bit?”
Edith: “The start of the slippery slope.”
Sybil: “I’m not putting on weight.”
Edith: “It didn’t shrink in the drawer.

Once you start to go out, you seem unable to stop. Till finally, you realize that you are an old lady who likes to watch a movie in her pjs more so than strut in high heels at Mid. Granny Crawley puts it, “I’m exhausted. Two parties in one day is too much for me.” I honestly think someone has texted me this!

Also, the college student’s bank account is usually a dismal affair. Only the first month in and you’ve racked up quite a debt ledger on apps like Venmo. Eventually, your avoidance of that one friend who bought you Chipotle and several Ubers becomes obvious. When they finally catch up with you, speed-walking across Turlington, you turn to them and echo Granny Crawley, “Oh, good. Let’s talk about money.”

Despite being on a campus with over 50,000 students, you cannot shake that one ex. He keeps popping up on your Snapchat even though they won’t answer your calls or texts. In the words of Granny Crawley, “Is this an instrument of communication or torture?”

Ridding your mind of them seems impossible, but you can’t afford the distraction. Granny Crawley speaks sage words to all of us walking in the shadows of ex-flings or ex-relationships: “Seriously, my dear, you have to take control of your feelings before they take control of you.”

Finally, you intersect with a guy who seems ‘dateable.’ Next, you face the question, should I date him? According to a faithful lady’s maid, Anna, “What I see is a good man, m’lady. And they’re not like buses. There won’t be another one along in ten minutes’ time.” And if we are referring to RTS buses, there may not be another one till morning light.

At odd intervals in one’s college experience, good things happen. The sensation of happiness is so foreign that perhaps you act as stunned as an Englishmen, like Matthew Crawley, who once said, “I feel as if I’ve swallowed a box of fireworks.”

Once the semester ends, you look back with some fondness and some regret. In truth, “We all have chapters we would rather keep unpublished” as the Earl of Grantham poetically reflects.

Likewise, Mr. Carson believes that “Life’s altered you, as it altered me. And what would be the point of living if we didn’t let life change us?” Any change is usually daunting, but as he says, it is a side-effect of living.

In summary, Granny Crawley says that “Life is a game in which the player must appear ridiculous.”

As college students, we understand the need to laugh at our own absurdity. As it turns out, we have the rest of our lives to try to take ourselves seriously.