Collegiate Discoveries (Passion Post 7)

The college experience. We’ve all heard the term, thrown loosely about. It’s every teenager’s dream – to graduate high school and move on to the bigger, the better. Vast campuses, mediocre food, and stacks of homework, exams, and papers.

To each, this term has a different definition.

Susan twirls her hair and sighs, “It’s the place where I meet my handsome dreamboat and he wisks me away to wonderland!”

Pre-game face paint applied, Richard snickers, “It’s a place for fun, friends, food, and PARTIES galore! We ARE!”

George adjusts his glasses, stating, “It is a means to an end… the curriculum is great, and an engineering degree from this University is just what I need to put me ahead in life.”

These are some very stereotypical (and realistically, quite lame) examples of just a few unique perspectives on what the true college experience can mean to a person. It can be a place of discovery, of adventure. Perhaps this chapter of life could be one of new beginnings and happy endings!

Such was the way I had always looked at college up until this point. But it isn’t until you’re truly immersed in something that you can see it for what it truly is.

So here is my question: what do you think of your PSU experience? How has it molded and fostered you as a person in the past few months?

After talking with a few people about this very thing, I have gained a rather sobering and eye opening viewpoint on the matter.

Many people viewed college as a sort of magical dreamland. It wasn’t that they didn’t realize it would be a difficult endeavor, but it was an exciting one nonetheless. New experiences, opportunities, and people to meet teeming from every which way. It’d be a wonder if one wasn’t bubbling over with enthusiasm!

But after arriving and being here awhile, the difficulties begin to surface. And many of them really don’t have much to do with campus life.

A big part of “the college experience” is truly learning who you are, what your values are, and who you associate with. The learner leaves home – along with everything that they are familiar with – and takes on a new role: the role of the student.

They are placed in this vast environment, away from what they knew. A truly enlightening experience, as a person can more easily define themselves in this way! However, as time takes its toll, the rules of life come into play. Things change, people change, and we as students are no exception.

When asking about experience, stories were related to me of struggles with the home role. Difficulties stemming from attempts at maintaining what was along with what currently is! Many have had trouble accepting themselves as they begin to see who they really are. Still more struggle under the social and workload-related pressures that go hand in hand with scholarly learning. As more and more of these facts come to light, we find our working definition of “the college experience” completely transform: it is a multi-faceted thing, hard to approach, difficult to describe to one who isn’t living it. It is a thing nearly impossible to truly understand.

I was literally brought to tears by stories of loves won and lost through the transition. People who wander alone, fearing rejection, or perhaps longing to be different than that which they have discovered they truly are. It’s a compelling series of tales, very eye opening in a raw and basic way.

And so I’ll ask again: what do you think of your PSU experience? How has it molded and fostered you as a person in the past few months?

I’m still working on my answer, and I’m sure you are too. Only time will truly tell what we’ve made of this place, as well as what it’s made of us.

This entry was posted in Passion. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Collegiate Discoveries (Passion Post 7)

  1. Seth says:

    You post a very important question, one I am personally still working on. Very thought provoking and overall solid post.

  2. Amanda Renee Leseman says:

    Wow, what an awesome post! It is definitely a post that everyone can relate to. Great job!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *