Return to College
“I don’t get why everyone says college is the best years of your life. Like, why do people say that? I don’t get it” After merely two months in college, this is my daughters’ commentary. I cannot believe what I’m hearing from her lips, and I try to find the words to make her understand. My mind flashes back to my own college years and I try to recall facts or memories to help prove my point. What made my four years of college so amazing? Of course, academics were the primary reason I attended college, but it’s clear now that college provided immense emotional and social exploration which turns out, was a lot of fun.
Stepping back into college life for a weekend with each of my daughters awakened memories of my college days. Years of the day-to-day grind had all but erased the memories of college life from twenty-seven years ago. I squinted and scanned the crowded parking lot, as the sun beat down highlighting the red solo cups. The amplifier from the band screeched between songs but the kids danced right through the shrill. The guitar player picked at a familiar chord, and everyone sang the first lyrics in unison. In one word, college is fun. I had forgotten how much fun.
For me there’s a feeling of joy, relaxation, and happiness meandering through a college campus. I appreciate the secluded beauty of a college campus, the well-manicured grounds in the bubble of a college town protected from real world pressures. Blissful living within the secure boundaries of a university. College is cocoon of sorts making students feel coddled and protected. The real world is more like a vast ocean filled with scary unknowns in contrast to a university, which is more like a sheltered tidal pool, and filled with familiar creatures. College creates a unique opportunity to discover through taking risks socially and academically. Risks that you can’t afford to take in the vast ocean.
I don’t think I know anyone who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to relive a little bit of college. As parents, we return with our children touring campuses, attending tailgates and football games, to give our children a glimpse into college life. Experiencing college life as an adult allowed me to escape my hectic and pressured life back home and had me wondering, what it would be like to have a weekend in college again as a mature adult. Would I appreciate it more now with the ability to compare it to life after college? Watching my girls explore their own college journey made me reminisce. Even my 83-year-old father clings to his college memories and tells my girls he wishes he could go back. Can we? Would we? Is it possible?
My mind drifted and I grasped an idea. A crazy, but perhaps brilliant idea. What if there was a weekend getaway where you could re-live your college days? A weekend filled with live bands, tailgates, dorms, sporting events, frat parties, bars, stimulating classes, and late-night pizza? Would you be in? Would you want to revisit the glory days of college and freedom from real life if only for a weekend? I began to map out a weekend itinerary in my head.
Friday Arrival
Welcome and class selection
Lunch/wine appreciation class
Nap
Tailgate
Football game
bars
Late night pizza party with DJ
Saturday
bloody mary Brunch
make your own podcast class
Bar crawl
Live band and beer on the quad
Sorority date night
Sunday
Morning hike
Attend Lecture of your choice
Lunch and cooking demonstration
Happy hour
departure
What is it about returning to a college campus and being around that energy feels so good? I think my daughter’s naïveté about life after college contributed to her difficulty in understanding why adults tell her college is the best four years of your life. Many real-life responsibilities are absent in college but when you return to college as an adult there is a clearer understanding of burdens outside the confines of the university bubble. A new perspective emerges and amplifies our appreciation for the amazing opportunities, tremendous growth and loads of fun throughout our college years, a wisdom, unfortunately, only gained through age.