Chris Kemp

Ah, college. It has all gone by so fast, leaving me wondering, just where did the time go?

Seems like just yesterday I pulled into the makeshift parking lot in front of Sutherland and Governors (it was all grass back then, young ‘uns) with Mom and Dad in the minivan chock-full of all the essentials: the computer (new, of course), the towel rack (a must-have), flip flops (for those grimy dorm showers), the microwave (Easy Mac, Ramen) and the mini-fridge (30-pack Beast Light).

I had the world ahead of me – though at the time, I could only see as far as the weekend. I can still remember great feelings of anticipation, excitement and even anxiety as we approached Exit 65 off I-94. I knew nothing of what college would hold for me, no longer a boy yet hardly a man at 18. It ended up being everything I had imagined but somehow nothing like I had expected.

Indeed, college is a crazy, crazy four years. You grow in ways you wouldn’t expect. At times I feel as though I’ve progressed and regressed at the same time. When I get together with my buddies, we sometimes act like juveniles, although some of us will be starting careers in a matter of weeks.

This is why I laughed aloud to myself the other day when I recalled how many people at my high school graduation party said, “Well, son, now you’re going into the real world.” Maybe they were so far removed from the college scene they’d forgotten the ridiculousness of it all.

In the “real world,” 8 a.m. is definitely not early. In the real world, you can’t skip work on Friday because you had too much fun Thursday night. In the real world, you’d take four classes (hour and 15 minute classes at that!) any day over a full workday – and that’s a long day in college. And, in the real world, even if you had four long classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you wouldn’t get the luxury of having Fridays off, as you most likely would in college.

No, college is certainly not the real world. More like a little bubble community, a training facility if you will, that prepares you to take on and prevail over the endeavors put forth by the real world. It is the integral second step in the three-step program of life (as if it can be simplified into three steps). Step one: kindergarten through 12th grade, step two: college and step three: get a “real” job, or a career.

Of course, you have those who pursue more education to better enable them for a smooth transition into step three. That’s step 2.5. At any rate, enjoy college as much as you can now, because it’s your final journey in Neverland before you have to go into the real world.

I’ve heard it said that graduating in four years is like leaving the party at 10 p.m. An astute observation, perhaps, but this person has clearly never partied at UW-Eau Claire. Sure, it’s like leaving the party at 10 o’clock; however, you’ve been taking beer bongs and kegstands for the preceding 12 hours – since 10 in the morning.

I can’t speak for all of us, but I feel like I’ve maximized my four years here. If you’re a senior, you’re an Eau Claire veteran, an O.G.

You remember that fateful day in September when you witnessed that terrible tragedy with your roommate, whom you’d known for less than two weeks. You’ve seen peers and friends swallowed by the Chippewa River and classmates battle meningitis. You’ve seen a corrupt hall director removed from his post for extortion (and I want my $50 back!). You’ve lived in the student ghetto and dealt with slumlords. And, chances are, you’ve given the Eau Claire Police Department a significant amount of your spending money. (As a corollary, you may have developed a hatred for them.)

So for those who are still young in the game, I’ve got a couple of suggestions for you so that you, too, can get the most out of your years as a Blugold.

First, meet people. Go out to Water Street, join student organizations or whatever, but meet as many people as you want to. The more you meet, the more you’ll find genuine, sincere and cool people that make up the Eau Claire student body.

Second, support Blugold athletics – especially my personal favorite, Blugold football, baby! That’s some good clean fun.

Third, take advantage of the speakers who come to the Forums. They are usually prominent speakers discoursing on the relevant issues of today. You might learn something.

Go to Big Falls when it’s hot, and bring a lot of beer. Take a second to jam with the violin guy on Water Street. Participate in intramural sports. Finally, walk through that bird museum in Phillips Hall. It’s sweet, a little weird, but definitely sweet.

So here we are, just a few weeks until the end. We are the high school class of 2001 (the real millennium; there was no year zero, right?!) Freshman year we watched “Dismissed” on MTV, and our house party songs were Petey Pablo’s “North Carolina” and Coo Coo Cal’s “In My Projects.” We smoked cigarettes (and/or other smokable plants) on 10th floor Towers South because we could back then. And we remember when Davies had a Burger King and a Subway, damn it.

Yep, things have changed since we first arrived here. But as we prepare for commencement in the coming weeks, one thing to remember is that we have the privilege to be in that exclusive community of people worldwide who can be proud to say “I’m a Blugold.”

Watson is a senior organizational communication major and a columnist for The Spectator.