Spring Break
Column: Exit college, enter real world
Dylan Polk / Opinions Editor
Issue date: 5/4/09 Section: Opinions
"Oh mama, can this really be the end?" - Bob Dylan
After four years of dealing with the constant strain of a formal education - homework, group projects, presentations and exams - it's all over.
On Saturday, I am going to be thrust into the real world, ready to live on my own, to provide for myself and be dependent on no one.
As much as I'd like to stay in college forever, I can't without putting my family and myself even further in debt.
And so, I will trudge through the week, studying for final after final, and when I put my pencil down for the last time on Thursday, my college years will be over.
I'm going to miss this place.
In the time I've spent at Eastern, I've made so many friends and had so many great memories that make the last two years the best years of my life, from spending days at Jackson Avenue Coffee to watching more than six hours of live music in the middle of the country, from the first time I walked into the newsroom to the present, where words flow from my fingertips onto the computer screen in front of me.
This is the last time I'll ever have a column published in The DEN. This is the last time I'll sit at my desk, periodically glancing out the window into the open field near Tarble.
And when I walk out of the newsroom, my days as a student journalist will end, and with a little luck, my days as a professional journalist will begin.
The editorials, columns, cartoons and letters to the editor will be passed into someone else's care.
So how do I wrap up my career as a college journalist? Do I thank the people who helped me along, like advisers, peers and sources?
Maybe I could write about my favorite memory, or about what I plan to do with my summer. Or maybe - and this is a big stretch - I could lay my feelings on the table one more time for people to dissect and apply to their own lives or to throw back in my face and laugh.
The truth is, there is far too much to say.
There is no way I could perfectly sum up my last two years in just a few hundred words because there is no way I can pick specific moments to write about.
So as I leave Eastern and face the real world, I'll take the lessons I've learned through my college years, and pray to God they can somehow apply to my life, wherever it leads me.
Growing up may sound scary, but it's just another time to enjoy life to the fullest, to make new friends and create new memories. And who knows, maybe someday I'll look back at my adulthood and appreciate it even more than I appreciated college.
Dylan Polk is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
After four years of dealing with the constant strain of a formal education - homework, group projects, presentations and exams - it's all over.
On Saturday, I am going to be thrust into the real world, ready to live on my own, to provide for myself and be dependent on no one.
As much as I'd like to stay in college forever, I can't without putting my family and myself even further in debt.
And so, I will trudge through the week, studying for final after final, and when I put my pencil down for the last time on Thursday, my college years will be over.
I'm going to miss this place.
In the time I've spent at Eastern, I've made so many friends and had so many great memories that make the last two years the best years of my life, from spending days at Jackson Avenue Coffee to watching more than six hours of live music in the middle of the country, from the first time I walked into the newsroom to the present, where words flow from my fingertips onto the computer screen in front of me.
This is the last time I'll ever have a column published in The DEN. This is the last time I'll sit at my desk, periodically glancing out the window into the open field near Tarble.
And when I walk out of the newsroom, my days as a student journalist will end, and with a little luck, my days as a professional journalist will begin.
The editorials, columns, cartoons and letters to the editor will be passed into someone else's care.
So how do I wrap up my career as a college journalist? Do I thank the people who helped me along, like advisers, peers and sources?
Maybe I could write about my favorite memory, or about what I plan to do with my summer. Or maybe - and this is a big stretch - I could lay my feelings on the table one more time for people to dissect and apply to their own lives or to throw back in my face and laugh.
The truth is, there is far too much to say.
There is no way I could perfectly sum up my last two years in just a few hundred words because there is no way I can pick specific moments to write about.
So as I leave Eastern and face the real world, I'll take the lessons I've learned through my college years, and pray to God they can somehow apply to my life, wherever it leads me.
Growing up may sound scary, but it's just another time to enjoy life to the fullest, to make new friends and create new memories. And who knows, maybe someday I'll look back at my adulthood and appreciate it even more than I appreciated college.
Dylan Polk is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Terrence S. Kiolbassa
posted 5/04/09 @ 4:29 AM CST
The real world? Please! You sound like some old GI that was drafted and sent to East Asia. All they wanted was to get back to the "Round Eyes" and away from hte green. (Continued…)
Sally Turner
posted 5/04/09 @ 8:46 AM CST
Well, it's not exactly "... stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again," but I understand your melancholy. Graduating elicits a symphony of emotions that can be hard to articulate. (Continued…)
Jade
posted 5/05/09 @ 1:51 PM CST
Well, first things first, I think Terrence needs to unbunch his panties and deal with his personal problems himself, rather than bark at you.
I really enjoyed reading this, and I am excited for your future. (Continued…)
jb
posted 5/05/09 @ 5:46 PM CST
Great column... I'm graduating Saturday, and I feel much the same way. College has been fun, and going to Eastern has been really fun!
Congrats on graduating!
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