As the end of the semester approaches faster than the excitement of a Friday afternoon turns into a Saturday morning hangover, many students are experiencing the scary and inevitable realization that real life is going to hurt — and that it's going to hurt a lot before it gets better.
Whether it's not getting into the grad school of our choice or rejection letters from employer after employer or the realization that we might have to move back in with our folks, this time of year can suck. For others, the idea that college is "the best time of our life" is overshadowed by the pressures of student loans and just the simple fear of the unknown.
That's why this time of year reminds me of one of my favorite subjects of modern American history, Ronald "Dutch" Reagan. Dutch was born to a very poor Irish family in Tampico, Ill., in 1911, and his family settled in Dixon, Ill., in 1920. After working through high school in construction for 35 cents an hour, he saved up enough money for college, majoring in economics and sociology at Eureka College, also in Illinois. In 1932, just out of college, Mr. Reagan moved to Iowa for a part-time radio position recreating Cubs and White Sox games as the stats were telegraphed to the station after every pitch.
After a few years of recreating baseball, Mr. Reagan, hoping to break into films, convinced his station manager that covering spring training would help the station. WHO in Iowa agreed, and Mr. Reagan was given a train ticket to California, assigned to cover the Chicago Cubs as they trained on Santa Catalina, an Island just off the coast of Los Angeles. Just 25 years of age, Mr. Reagan, who started with nothing, was following his dreams and was on his way to becoming the Hollywood actor he had always hoped he would become.
Much later — after serving as California's governor and already through his first term as president — looking back on his life, in a 1985 letter to a friend, Mr. Reagan reflected: "I don't know whether I have always used my time wisely. Sometimes I think that time I wasted was, in retrospect, the best time of all."
Of course, as a 75-year-old who could list Hollywood actor, governor of California and president of the United States on his resume, it's easy to say that "wasting time" really isn't such a waste. After all, Mr. Reagan was just an average student and was definitely not one of the greatest actors of his time. Yet he became one of the most important presidents of the 20th century.
Still, reflecting on his life in this way, in essence saying that what's important in life is to keep one eye on the big picture and the other right in front of you, has tremendous importance to everyone on campus, as many of us will soon be facing some very important, perhaps life-changing, decisions. In approaching this point in our lives, Mr. Reagan seems to suggest that we shouldn't forget to take the time to enjoy life and perhaps even defy what our parents and teachers have preached and take the time to waste time.
For Mr. Reagan, wasting time probably meant walking on the beach in Southern California, watching old movies, chopping wood at his ranch or, perhaps, hanging out with his movie-star buddies. At the University of Wisconsin, we hopefully all have our favorites. For my part, nothing beats the Terrace — rain, snow or shine. Whatever it is for you, whatever that thing is about Madison that you are absolutely going to miss, don't forget to take a break from real life and do those things. Just remember to keep one eye on the road ahead.
Jason Saltoun Ebin ([email protected]) is a second-year law student.
