Working on a college/university campus, it is pretty hard not to see your days as an undergraduate in the eyes of those who I mentor or interact with. I see so many things daily, hear students talk about "what happened last night", and help many of them discuss issues and find their way through this life, I can't help but think back on those days in which I was in their shoes. Although overall, I don't miss it (another post to come!), there are some aspects I do miss about college. This Pondering 10 are exactly those things that I miss the most about college.
10. Cafeteria Offerings - I was one who really had no complaints about cafeteria food. After all, no it wasn't a five-star meal, but it was good, and some nights (especially Hot Dog Bar and chicken tenders nights), it was great. However, as an adult, I really just miss being able to walk to the cafeteria and have an abundance of food already made and hot, just waiting for me to serve myself and enjoy.
Unless you are rich with a butler, adulthood doesn't have that.
9. Awesome Professors - I was fortunate to have some pretty awesome professors during my undergraduate years, one who I still consider the greatest professor I've ever had (undergrad and graduate), and I'm lucky enough to remain in contact with her.
Awesome professors are those mentors that will change your outlook on life, challenge you, and provide you with the proper skills to continue to succeed. You never wanted to miss their classes. Those were the classes that made college seem like higher learning, and not just requirements.
Tough replacing those kind of relationships.
8. Summers/Winter Breaks - Looking back on it now, maybe working hard for four months in the Fall and four months in the beginning of the year with long breaks in the Winter and Summer isn't that tough.
7. Friends in Remote Place - Good luck trying to squeeze friends in to hangout as an adult. Between work and life, there is the matching up of schedules and further planning to hang out. And that's if your friends are in the same area as you. If they live more than 30 miles, it gets even tougher to stay in contact.
Nothing like having your friends in your room, suite, or dorm. Just a walk down the hall to hangout.
6. Randomness - C'mon, we all have so many stories of random things that happened in college. The sudden party, the impromptu decision to take a road trip, or the choice to pile furniture in front of a friend's door - there are so many stupid ideas that came up. I still remember playing random games of "suite golf" in our suite (of course) at night during my senior year. We'd just come up with random courses inside the suite and would play for hours...most likely procrastinating from working on our capstone projects.
5. Sleeping in/Naps - Gosh, if I could only take a two o' clock nap these days. Heck, some nights I'd be lucky if I get five hours of sleep!
4. Athletics - I miss playing college baseball. I really do. And I miss being able to cheer on my friends, and my school's team in other sports. Sure, I work in college athletics now and I root for students-athletes, some who I have developed relationships with, but for some reason, it's just not the same. It actually makes you miss being on the other end more.
3. Pick-Up Basketball/Intramurals - One of my favorite parts of college were the countless hours of pick-up basketball we played and the intramural tournaments that determined bragging rights. We might have played at least five days a week. Besides summer softball and the occasional pickup game here and there, it's tough to really satisfy those competitive urges now.
2. Social Conversations/discussions/observations - Hanging out in the dorms, either playing video games, drinking brews, or watching sports, and discussing any and everything from sports, politics, social norms, and of course, girls, especially, girls - lots of good times!
1. Sweatpants, Sweatshirts, and Shorts - Ok, I'm sure many of you may disagree. But there is just something about college's social acceptance of sweatpants, sweatshirts, and shorts that I loved. Just get up, throw on some sweats, and roll on out. As a working professional, I long for those days.