Why I’m Going to College
I reserve the right to take all of this back when finals week rolls around.
BY EMMA IHLENFELD WITH ART BY ALEX KOZAK
I took a gap year before starting college and tasted the sweet freedom of life without homework. Now, with the addition of each new assignment to my towering to-do list, I find myself pondering what I’m doing here.
I recall longingly how formative my year outside of the classroom was when, for the first time, the real world was my teacher, and I, its eager student. Midterms, 10-page papers, and GIS lab assignments (if you know you know) may do their best to disguise the fact, but college is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push yourself to learn about the world we live in, whether from a professor in lecture, from the people you meet around campus, or from our University’s urban setting.
It really hit me— my enjoyment of academia— in my writing class. Not once during my gap year in the workforce did I take the time to write a thoughtful, introspective essay, but this week, I was assigned a paper on climate change and individual responsibility. I was forced to stop and consider my stance on this daunting crisis; something that I and many others avoid doing out of fear and helplessness. I realized, through this paper, that the very reason I am enrolled in this University is to do just that: to call into question my views and to discover how best to address the biggest challenges that face humanity.
He hasn’t said it out loud, but I think that my roommate is also a fan of college. He’s an architecture major from Ecuador, someone I never would have met had it not been for the existence of this school. We’ve spent many evenings discussing what we’ve been learning, sharing what has fascinated us, angered us, and changed our minds. Those conversations, the kind that you can’t have anywhere else, are why I am here. At no other point in my life will I be surrounded by others whose full-time job is to learn.
For me and for many others at the university, this is our first chance to live in a city, an educational experience in and of itself. As an out-of-state student, a large draw to this school for me was its location. Navigating a metropolitan landscape is difficult, and college is the perfect time to learn how to do so. Additionally, college is a great trial run for city life. Maybe you’ll discover you hate it and run for the hills upon graduation, or maybe you’ll love it and wind up sticking around for a while. Either way, figuring out the environment you prefer to live in is crucial to your future happiness.
As our generation has come to find, a degree is not required for success, nor is it a ticket to a livable wage and a comfortable life. These thoughts frequent my mind; I could drop out and get a job that pays just as well as any job I could receive with my future degree, I could spend my money on trade school, or I could travel while working seasonal jobs. However, for these four years, I am choosing to immerse myself in the wonder of the endless knowledge that inhabits the Earth for all living things to study.