College experience prepares students for life

So this is my swan song. It came a lot sooner than I thought it would, and it means that I am about to leave campus after a five-year stay. Some people would argue that even five years is not a long time, but my father was in the military, and, while I lived in a variety of dorms and apartments during my tenure at Tech, this will constitute my longest time in one spot.

I debated for a while as to the topic of my final editorial. I thought that maybe it should have some message or have some deeper philosophical meaning. On the other hand, I contemplated using this as a sounding board to tell off everyone who had pissed me off during the past year, and believe me, it is a long list. Based on the mood I am currently in, which for those who know me know it changes on a dime, I feel that I should impart some sort of advice to those who are coming up behind me.

When I arrived on campus in August 2002, campus was vastly different from what it is now. For starters, Yellow Jacket Park, the spot of this year's Sting Break Concert, had a building sitting on it. The bookstore was located in the Student Center because Tech Square was still under construction. The CRC was the SAC and in a completely different building that was dwarfed by its successor. The new Klaus building that was under construction for so long had not even broken ground, and the area housed the Health Center and the School of Psychology.

I say this to draw an analogy and prove a point. In the five years that I have been at Tech, campus has changed a lot, but I have also changed a lot. The knowledge and experience gained while in college is incredible when one takes a minute to look back on it all. However, not all of that knowledge and experience was gained in the classroom. In fact, some of life's best lessons cannot be learned in a class, but through living and making mistakes.

While I paid my way through most of my schooling, I still had my parents around for a safety net if I screwed up too badly. This is an important concept, because while it is preached that you are out in the real world in college, you are really only a part of the way into that realm.

College is a middle ground between childhood and adulthood that allows a person to discover oneself if he or she takes the time to do it. While class pushes you intellectually in terms of book smarts, the rest of the college experience develops pragmatic life skills. A basic example that almost every college student experiences is finding that level of alcohol tolerance that allows you to have a good time without getting acquainted with yours or someone else's bathroom for an extended period of time.

Another life lesson is how to handle money. In many cases, the stereotype of the broke college student is true, and being that type of broke gives a person a unique perspective about money and the value of money. During my time here, I tried every possible way to make money without actually working but found out that the only thing I could do was get a job to pay the bills.

But the advice I have to give is not the best way to build up an alcohol tolerance or how to balance a checkbook. My advice to everyone is to not get so absorbed in class and graduation that you miss out on the true college experience. A person who goes to class and then simply goes straight home to do homework may have slightly better grades at the end but will have lost out on so much more.

When that person gets out into the real world, he or she will not be equipped to deal with the world and the people in it. The saying that it is not what you know but who you know is applicable here. Networking on campus is more valuable than the GPA point difference between a C and a B. More importantly, however, the ability to interact with people is a skill that is often lacking from Tech graduates, as noted by many employers.

So before you are in my position, go out and live life and have the college experience. Your time in college will pass far too quickly for your liking and if you don't seize your opportunities, you won't get a second chance. The real world is a daunting place that waits for you on the other side; do not be in a rush to get there. Enjoy life while you still have the safety net of college under you and while your mistakes-small ones anyway- will not ruin the rest of your life. And when you finally do graduate, make sure that you have no regrets.