With my seventh semester wrapping up next week, my time at UB is rapidly coming to an end. Looking back on my time here, I can't complain about the fun I've had or the unique experiences I'll likely never forget, but at this point I can honestly say I'm ready to move on...I think.
More and more often, my friends who graduated last year will tell me to cherish the little time that I have left at school. And why shouldn't I? No responsibilities, few bills, low rent, campus cash. Why would anyone want to leave a four year party? For some reason though, the idea of sticking around and partying another year isn't all that appealing.
When I was a freshman I thought I was sitting on top on of the world. I had finally escaped the boredom of high school and moved out of my parent's house. Freedom! As time passed, things only got better. With a house on South Campus, and as a young member of my fraternity, endless possibilities lay ahead. I would go to the bar four nights a week, stay up till six, wake up at three and do it all over again the next day.
I embraced this new lifestyle and eventually went from freshman to sophomore, from a junior to a senior. More or less, I've been doing the same reckless and inappropriate things for four years. I hate to break it to all the young students out there who are just waiting for the next Thursday to come so they can hit the bars, but it does eventually get old.
"So what?" my graduated friends would probably tell me. "Believe me bro, you do not want to come back home. Stay in school for as long as you possibly can." Maybe I'm na??ve, and maybe in a year I'll look back at this article and laugh at how stupid I was, but I kind of want to graduate.
There is a driving force somewhere deep inside of all of us that wants us to move on to the next level and improve our situations. I believe that it is this very voice inside that is telling me to finish up. It tells me to get a job, get some money, get a place in the city and (if it's not asking too much) a car that doesn't break down three times a week. The only problem is these goals are excruciatingly far from what my first year out of college will actually be.
In reality, next year will not be as much fun as I would like to imagine. Personal independence isn't quite gratifying enough to take the place of financial freedom and three day drinking binges. Sure, I'll be taking the next step towards becoming a fully-fledged adult, but for some twisted reason that means moving back in with my parents. We'll see how much good my diploma does to stop my mom from nagging me about coming home so late, or my dad about doing the dishes.
The most obvious change from living here to living at home is going to be the social scene. No more sorority mixers for me, but if I'm lucky one of my boys' parents will go out of town for a weekend and he'll have a party. A bit of a drop off there, don't you think? Up here I can go to The Steer with 15 bucks in my pocket and party all night, back home 15 bucks will barely get me into the club. As amazing as New York City is, that kind of lifestyle is unbearably expensive for a kid with an entry level job at some newspaper. Looks like I can kiss my four bar nights a week goodbye.
Chaucer once wrote that "all good things must come to an end." I'm fairly certain he was talking about college. While I am grateful that I was able to have such great experiences here, I suddenly realize that it is time to move on. A rough year lies ahead of me in 2007, one filled with job interviews, apartment hunts and all of the trials and tribulations that come with being a young college grad in the City. It may finally be time for me to grow up.
No matter how dismal my immediate future may look, I'm not going to waste any time worrying about it now. After all, let's not forget I have another semester to go. So until graduation day, and until I take that long eight hour trip to Brooklyn for the last time, I'm going to enjoy every minute I have left here, and be sure to return home with no regrets.
