College life, when pushing forty, is something quite
amazing. Especially going into it
married while taking all your classes with your spouse. I have to admit, my situation is quite a bit
more unique than I had planned for.
There are obvious upsides, always having a study partner, getting to
spend time with my wife, knowing all the same people…. But the other things, are quite amazing.
First off, my wife and I almost have a cult following at
school. From out councilor holding our
relationship as a model for what she wants her future to be, to those that just
think we are entirely too cute to being doing it all together. I mean, sure, it’s one thing to be a cute
couple, but we’ve even joke about starting up a Facebook page for those who are
fans…. After our first year, we get
noticed all over campus, and even off campus.
When we went to the Muskogee Ren Faire, we got noticed more than once
out in public. It was a bit crazy.
Being older gives us the ability to have a bit of respect
from fellow students, who come to us for help with not only homework but other
things. One young lady, who was
attending college class for the first half of her high school day had us help
with essays for scholarships.
Friends were the oddest part. We honestly did not know what to expect, but
we ended up gathering friends easily. It
helps that Lisa turned into one of ‘those’ ‘older’ women at school who kind of
become ‘college mother’ to quite a few people.
Even our second semester, most every walk between classes we bumped into
someone we had to stop and say hi to.
Most interesting of all was how quickly we could make
friends with our teachers. They are a
great sort of folk, almost always hopeful, or doing something amazing with
their time. Sure, they are stressed, but
they all, so far, truly seem to enjoy their lives. We make the conscious decision, every
semester, to get to know them at least a little bit.
The one thing we hate, right now, is that we are not on
campus enough. There are all sorts of
events and organizations we would love to be more a part of, but we just can’t. We live an hour and a half away, simply
because that’s where the house is located.
The drive is a killer, but it’s something we currently have to do
because we’re buried under a mortgage.
Living that far outside of college makes us realize other
things as well. On college, the campus
is just chock full of hope. It’s
refreshing to be around so many who have not been beat down by the system,
people who have become so jaded that there is nothing good with the world in
the slightest. Sure, there is stress,
but so many are honestly happy. So many
feel like they are actually doing something with their lives….
And beyond that…there’s no cigarette smoke lingering in
every corner of everywhere you go. There
are times, when we get bogged down and don’t go anywhere but school and home,
that we forget what that nasty shit smells like. It’s honestly a shock when that smell slaps
you in the face….
Even the personal non-hate. So many races, ethnicities, and people
mingling, working together, even sharing their cultures with others who are
more than happy to enjoy different styles of festivities. It’s easy to see why so many revolutions truly
show up on college campuses….
What I wouldn’t give to be in a world like the world on a
college campus…. A world without
smoking, rampant racism, or unwillingness to help the common man. Any time spent on that campus honestly makes
me wish I hadn’t given up on most of humanity so very long ago…. But we always have to leave campus, and see
real life….
Hate ending on a downer, but in the end, my summer
vacation is just about over, and any day now I’ll be back in college, striving
for the future among so many people that are so easy to respect. I so cannot wait. Maybe I’m crazy, but this summer has been a
summer of stir-craziness. School…I miss
it.
