On Second Thought

As the stores fill up with dorm room supplies and plastic organizers and as the hot sticky Summer weather shifts to a much cooler crisp air I can't help but be reminded that I've always kind of felt like I missed out on the whole college experience. After I graduated high school I wasn't ready to jump right in to college so I opted to take a semester off before registering for community college(Eventually transferring to a 4 year school only a few towns away from where I live). I lived with my parents and I went to school full time as well as worked full time. I never took that big step most college students take, the one where they move away from home and are on their own for the first time. I never had a roommate other than my boyfriend and I never got to live in a dorm. It is something that up until recently I have never given much thought to. Did I miss out on an experience of a lifetime? Does going away to college better shape you and prepare you for the future? After all when I finally did move out of my parents house I moved across town. I still live in the same zipcode as I have for my entire life and my parents are only a ten minute (tops) car ride away. I believe the only reason I am thinking about this now is because I am twenty five and all of my friends who attended a four year school have their degree and have real jobs and I can't help but wonder if I am wasting time.

I have to admit I loved community college. I went to Suffolk Community here on Long Island and I only wished it was a four year school. It was cheap, I had great professors and I learned so much that has only contributed to the future I am trying to make for myself. So many people knock community college calling it the 13th grade and I do disagree with them. Even though I feel like I might have missed out on the whole college experience I am happy with the knowledge I have obtained in my countless years at both Suffolk and Dowling College. So I guess it's not really that big of a deal if I never pledged a sorority or slept in a dorm room. Besides I had a pretty wild time in High school which has been enough to sustain my appetite for hardcore partying thus far. ;)