College Crisis: Maturity is a Myth

Our college years are full of dramatic “I’m not a grown up!” moments- mostly unexpected, and typically unwanted. Anonymous Valley writers discuss it all, from avoiding basic responsibilities to dealing with the big, bad future. Let’s talk about it.

What is it about college that makes people so annoyingly stupid? Is it that our parents aren’t around? Or perhaps the ‘YOCO’ (you only college once) mentality?

College is an odd place where you will find some of the brightest individuals you’ve ever met, along with some of the dumbest people you’ll ever meet. Sometimes I find myself wondering how some of these people even got into main campus (I’m sure I’m not the only person who thinks this).

Sure, college is a place where we can do basically whatever we want and know that our parents won’t find out, but does that mean that we need to go crazy every weekend?

In 10 years, it’s unlikely that you’re going to look back and think, “Wow, I’m so glad I went out to dirty frats and got groped every weekend!” or “I’m so happy I can’t remember most of the nights I went out because I drank so much that blacked out all the time!”

It’s possible to go out and have a good time without drinking an excessive amount (I’m not sure if people actually know this or not…). I don’t know many people that go out, drink heaps and manage to not to embarrass themselves in one way or another.

My friend recently told me a story about something that happened in her dorm last year. A girl went out one night, got completely trashed and ended up leaving a trail of diarrhea down the hall. To make it worse, it was all over the floor in her room, her bed, her roommate’s belongings and in the laundry basket.  I’m not sure about you guys, but I wouldn’t know how to live with the embarrassment of being known as the “Shunk sh*****.”

Speaking of going out, is it necessary to go out more than once a week? I mean, why are you crying about your embarrassingly low grades when you party three nights a week? Your classes aren’t too hard, you don’t have your priorities straight. There’s no one to blame but yourself. So stop with the self pity.

Some people need to start growing up. You can have fun at college, but I think some people forget the main reason we’re actually here: to graduate with a degree and ultimately get a job. Is getting an abominable GPA really worth it?

Your GPA isn’t everything, but at least I won’t ever have to be embarrassed (or lie to an employer) about mine.

Photo by Kyle Biller