So college won’t last forever.
A good thing, I think. But with college ending, so too will many other things.
Now, I’m just a junior and I have another year left of “the best years of my life,” so what will I do with that year?
You know, it’s pretty amazing what we learn at college.
I’m not talking about the difference between DNA and RNA, the importance of the seven soliloquies of Hamlet, or even Platonic Dualism.
I’m talking about the things you’ll really need to know, like how to recognize a friend, your drinking limitations, the minimal hours of sleep you can have and still function productively the next day, the importance of having people that love you.
These things are not found in overpriced textbooks, because the true worth of this knowledge cannot be realized by scanning a bar code.
But, like college and Platonic Dualism and Shakespeare, the fine details of old friends and loved ones will fade.
We will all remember that Ophelia drowns, just like we’ll all meet up every fall to cheer on our Alma Mater and catch up with college chums, but we’ll soon find that there isn’t much catching up, just a whole lot of reminiscing.
Why? Because college only prepares us for life, and when college ends, so does the preparing.
All the people you’ve experimented and practiced on move on, and so will you.
There are exceptions, but for the most part the people who surround you now, will surround others later.
Do you remember high school?
How many of those people do you see, even occasionally?
How many of them do you even want to see?
I hate to be cynical, but your friends and lovers now are just part of the curriculum.
So learn how to recognize a friend, and learn how to love.
You’ll need it when you’re older.
Because as you get older, your academic achievements will mean less and less, your drinking tolerance will change, your required nightly hours of sleep will dwindle and fade until life is but one long day, and then you’ll die.
And when you do, if you have loved, death will be your reward; but if love escapes you, death will be your punishment.
Either way, you’ll have the people you knew in college to thank.
Anywho, it’s your special day, Pretty Bird — enjoy it.
I’m sorry we will not be flying north tomorrow, but I hope you understand it’s still a bit too cold.