College or Collage?

College is great. There is so much to be offered. If you don’t have money, it’s easy to get some just for attending. And if you don’t have friends, you can use that money to buy a whole lot of them.

I am, of course, referring to two keystone fundamentals of college. Financial aid and Greek life—one of which I take full, financial advantage of. It is never more apparent, the Greek presence on campus, than the first handful of weeks of school. Walking through the library quad brings up quite a mental debacle between pros and cons. I have never been stopped by a guy with a flyer and asked about recruitment. This is a good thing. The bad is now I am left wondering to myself, “am I an unapproachable a-hole with an I-hate-everyone-and-everything appeal?”

Nah.

In fact, one of the great things about college is all of the friends I have made from the opposite side of the state than I’m from. Interestingly enough, a study from Purdue University concluded that friends made during college last longer than the ones made before it—which is too bad because I hate everyone I know here. I have this I-hate-everyone-and-everything personality trait.

In all seriousness, a great thing about college is the financial help it offers. I wouldn’t be able to be here, sitting on this couch, writing this very column throughout a Thursday night and Friday morning. Instead, I’d be doing something unproductive and cheaply entertaining.

Wait a second. I’ve been duped!

College is good n junk n stuff cuz now I don’t talking like this n-e-more!!!!!11111111

Education is a pretty big part of getting an education. College is essential in getting a post-secondary education degree (I googled it), whether it be an associates, bachelors, master, or doctorate. I have achieved one already. Believe it or not, it’s not the doctorate.

Getting a college degree opens new academic doors, potential future career networking, lessons from highly achieved professors of the same field, develops maturity, creates self worth and… I’ve already lost your interest and attention just from reading this sentence. Be honest—that was even painful to type. This is why, let’s face it, we do not necessarily attend college for these reasons. This probably accounts for academic disqualification being the second highest cause for college dropouts, according to a study conducted in 2007.

Distractions are abundant. But if those distractions were originally intentions, you may find yourself as a statistic. 

But if you can find a level head, you can let distractions entertain you and still accidentally teach you in the process. It’s quite simple to learn about, say, moral and ethical issues while playing Grand Theft Auto. It would not be unlikely for blowing up cars and mindlessly killing everyone in an entire city to prompt contemplation, which could benefit a philosophy paper on virtue.

I sound like an Xbox public relations representative.

The best thing of college, or at least one of them, for me, is the chance to get out and experience new things in a new city. It would have been a truly missed opportunity if I were to attend my local state school instead of one in a new, exciting area. Living in downtown Sacramento has put me in situations I have not regularly been in before.

College is good for all the right and wrong reasons. Enlightening, thought provoking, disciplining and self-developing, college turns boys to men and girls to women. On the other hand, college becomes a source of developing how to get by and what the minimum is for you to get there—a C+.