College is not the Best Time of your Life

We are at the end of April, which means a few things. Soon I’ll be able to smoke cigars on the roof of my building. The sun will be out regularly. People will be graduating from high school and college. When I was in school I heard, “Enjoy college. It’s the best time of your life.” When I was graduating, I heard that we needed to savor every moment of our senior year because, “College is the best time of our lives.” And now ever year since I started teaching college, I’ve heard the same things from students. I’m here to tell you something very important: College is not the best time of your life.

Don’t get me wrong; college was great. There are some days when I miss it. I see students going through the struggles I went through. I think back to some great times I had with my friends (some of whom I don’t see often enough). I had a lot of fun and grew so much while I was in college. But I also remember something my friend said to me.

To think that you already had the best time of your life by 22 years old is pretty sad.

It’s an incredible thought and puts a lot in perspective. It also shows how short-sighted young adults are, myself included. It’s really easy to think college was the best time of your life when you think about the problems of an early 20-something right out of school. So much is up in the air: job, living situation, money, love life probably. It can be overwhelming.

As I enter the back end of my 29th year* I can tell you, college senior, it gets so much better. At this point in my life, I have an amazing job working for an incredible company, I teach college courses in my spare time, I’m getting married, and I’m in good health. I’m not saying this to brag. I’m saying this because if you are patient, work hard, and set goals for yourself, all of that daunting post-college stuff doesn’t seem so daunting.

Here’s the truth: It’s all about your outlook on life. If you go through your life thinking your best days are behind you, they will be. And my friend is right; to have that thought at 22, around 1/4 of your life, is pretty sad.

I’m much more excited thinking about what the next few years have in store for me than thinking about what I did in college. Yes, there will be a lot more challenges, but the rewards will be much, much greater.

So remember as you graduate this year, the last 4 years we good, but the years ahead of you will be great. You just need to make them great.

*This is a cheeky way of saying I turn 30 in less than 6 months.

**The incredible photo you see here was taken by Dirk Sebregts.