Being two weeks away from graduating, I thought it was a perfect time for me to reflect on the last four years of collegiate life. These four years have been turbulent to say the least, but have been well worth my time.
When I got to college, I was a part of the cross country team here at UW-Eau Claire. As crazy as it seemed, I’d only started running cross country during my senior year of high school. I initially felt so out of place as a lifelong football player.
But as I got to know my teammates better, I began to feel comfortable with them, especially after watching Borat for the first time. I don’t think I’ve laughed harder in my entire life than when I watched that movie. Those feelings of homesickness and loneliness disappeared quickly.
I spent my first two years of college going through the same repetitive routines of class and practice with no time to socialize with other kids outside of the team. While I was tight with the guys on the cross country team, I felt socially isolated.
Before Christmas break of my sophomore year, I ended up quitting the team as I felt my performance was decreasing, and running began to feel like a chore that I dreaded doing. Safe to say that was a long, cold winter since for the first time in my life, I had nothing to look forward to after classes were over.
During the spring months, I picked up a side gig umpiring baseball games for a local little league. I began to enjoy running again by training for the Green Bay Half Marathon. I still had difficulty socializing as I’d spend my weekends playing Xbox or driving down to La Crosse or Menominee to visit some of my high school friends.
Looking back, I’d appreciate those friends for helping me persevere through tough times and helping open myself up socially. Thesummer between my sophomore year and junior year was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
Whether it was renting an Airbnb for a week, getting up to crazy shenanigans or going out in the fishing boat pretty much every weekend, I began to find myself again.
Junior year, I ended up rooming with three people I didn’t know before I moved in with them in Haymarket Landing. These three guys ended up being some of the coolest, funniest people I’ve met during my time in college.
The late night gaming sessions that I typically would partake in since I still don’t know how to hook up to Xbox live or download Fortnite were stuff of epic lore. I’m still surprised we didn’t receive a ton of noise complaints from neighbors because of all the yelling.
As I turned 21, a whole new social realm opened up for me, and I took advantage of that in a big way. I was looking for a part-time job during the summer and went out on a limb and applied at The Pioneer and The Pickle on Water Street.
Eleven months after starting as a socially awkward doorman, I’d say that risk was well worth it. I’ve met some incredibly awesome people and become great friends with coworkers and customers alike.
Not everything was perfect, since I have witnessed some disgustingly foul things while on the job and had to break up my fair share of drunken altercations. But would I say it’s been worth it? My answer to that is a resounding yes.
I’ve made up for lost time and created lifelong friends but the social rollercoaster that is college has been a long, turbulent ride.
But challenging myself to become a well-rounded person has been worth the ride.
Balancing school, part-time jobs, sports, internships and a social life has been no easy task but I have absolutely zero regrets about my college experience. Are my adult years about to hit me like a Mike Tyson punch to the face? Yes, but this experience has given me enough training to take that punch.
Mikalofsky can be reached at [email protected].
