As hard as it is to believe, in about two weeks the current semester will cease to exist. Beyond troublesome classes, it's doubtful that anyone is ready for it, much less looking forward to the end of this academic year. Regardless of how highly anticipated summer is, most people are reluctant to part with the current social routines they've grown accustomed to over the past few months.
From the beginning to the end of our tenure at this university, it almost seems like we're trained to hate this time of year. As freshmen, we're herded out of the dorms practically as quickly as the worst week of the semester — exam week — is done. There's no time to say goodbye to friends, have one last celebration or even just relax. Now, graduating seniors face an even worse plight: the uncertainty of knowing they won't be walking up Bascom Hill in the fall. In their post-graduate haste, however, perhaps students leaving UW should slow down and consider where they are in life.
Between the burden of repaying student loans, the scary prospect of returning home and a general, cultural pressure to become productive citizens, those moving off campus permanently might find it difficult to simply take some time off. However, I would offer this advice to all 2006 graduates (with a large grain of salt, obviously — after all, said advice is being dispensed by a UW junior who is already petrified about job prospects and the post-collegiate future): take one second to sit back and figure out what you really want to do.
Having followed a course of preparation for a particular career throughout their undergraduate tenure, many students, when faced with graduation, seem to feel the direction they'll take after college is as clear as night and day. But while the choice to accept the first entry level career that suits one's fancy might appear an obvious one, it could also prove to be a very regrettable one. It's possible I've simply watched "Office Space" one too many times, but I believe bowing to urgency now might well lead to a mid-life crisis later. When you really consider the two options, maybe it would be better to even hold a job at a gas station while you think about what you want rather than enter a less-than-appealing career job whose comfort level might soon lead to complacency.
Beyond work, there are many good options for those exiting college. Consider complaints of elderly people who you know — a common attitude is the lamentation of having missed out on once risky opportunities. Really, conditioning oneself to believe the fallacy that work now will lead to financial backing for adventure later is setting a path toward eventually harboring a similar, regretful sentiment.
I'm not simply recommending the cliché, month-long backpacking trip through Europe, but rather that each graduating senior consider what it is they'd really like to do while they still have the chance. Take out a loan, go a little further into debt, worry your parents sick — all of these problems will evaporate as you eventually settle into a career — something to worry about later. But don't waste the best opportunity your life will afford to do what you really want to do.
The pressure to enter the workforce is obvious — you've only been building to this point for the last 15 years. Strangely, however, everyone who was pressuring you about this quickly approaching day forgot to explain their own remorse for having missed the chances of long-ago freedom. You'll soon enough be saddled with home payments and a spouse. With four years (maybe more) of studies and a degree under your belt, reward yourself. Now is the time to do what you want to do. You can work for the rest of your life.
Rob Rossmeissl ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.
