About+college

A very wise administrator once said “College is not a parenthetic.” It is not simply how you spend your time for some number of years between high school and the rest of your life. College is a time of discovery, of learning about your own values and beliefs with, perhaps, less influence of your parents and family. It is a time to be stupid and learn from that stupidity, though I’m mostly talking about behavior. It is a time to figure out what you really need and want from friends. It is a time to challenge your suppositions, your generalizations, your expectations; in short, how you see the world as you know it.

College is the time to finish shucking off the detritus of your high school self.

College is the time to begin to write the story of yourself as an adult, though you’ll still a need a big eraser or make frequent use of the backspace key. Trust me on that.

College is the time to figure out what you think you might want to be when you grow up. . . and how adventurous or flexible you are.

In your rush to be an adult, try to savor the time you are in college. If you aren’t sure of your major, don’t despair. “Undecided” is a perfectly acceptable major but know you have to make a decision by the time you’re a junior. Your essay may help you unlock some doors to yourself and what you think you might want to be and do.

Even if you are 100% certain of your major, allow yourself to explore, to question. Dare yourself to wonder.

College is the time to learn how to be a grown-up, but not just in terms of maturity or responsibility. College is the time to learn how to assess yourself and situations, to learn how you think and make decisions so you know what kinds of things you might need to do to continue to grow and improve which aren’t the same things and often aren’t even related.

College is the time to help you begin to figure out how to figure out things for the rest of your life.

College. It is a means, it is a beginning, it is an end, and it is again a beginning. Enjoy and learn from as many moments of it as you can.