Another exciting year of college begins. Young freshman faces abound sporting brand-spanking new Jansport backpacks and “Preview” T-shirts.
These new students wiggle their way through campus, oblivious of what to do with their newfound freedoms and piles of textbooks.
The Atrium resonates with sounds of hip music targeted at the college-aged consumer.
They steadily go through the motions of their secondary education in anticipation of graduation when it hits them.
They are enrolled in a state-funded school of liberal arts. They eat in a place that serves a variety of foods for the nutrient-starved student while John Mayer videos play in the background. Then, one suddenly realizes, “Omigosh, college is my wonderland!”
Of course, the word “college” is a broad term used to describe a place of higher learning and also a way of life. However, it can also be used to describe an experience, either tangible or out-of-body -whichever one applies to the particular situation.
No matter how annoying the stereotype can be, most people get tired of fighting it and just ride with it.
“College is debt, parties, roommates, swill and term papers,” said painting major Kelli Bernhardt. “It’s a lot of things, and it’s a lot of fun, too. My grandpa always told me that college is like a fishing license – it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll catch anything, but it gives you the right to put your line in the water.”
For many of us, the university atmosphere is a stomping ground of creativity, a garden of growing self awareness and a social playground where we meet people of different cultures, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, etc.
But, for millions of students aged 18-24, struggles with issues of identity, goals and beliefs overshadow the utter joys of college. This and other life changes that occur in young studenthood often make this period of growth difficult.
Dr. Jan Henley, a psychologist at the ETSU counseling center, witnessed this difficulty firsthand when she taught a course designed for incoming freshman called Academic Advantage.
The course emphasizes developing or improving study skills, taking tests and class notes, understanding professors and personal differences, exploring careers, managing time, advising, learning about university resources and participating in campus activities.
“In Academic Advantage, we saw how different it is in college for freshmen than it was in high school,” Henley said. “The campus parking, getting laundry done and living in residence halls are an adjustment that is hard for some students.”
This place, way of life and experience isn’t simply about drunken, promiscuous sex and beer in a cup. Immersing oneself in the world of academia can be quite fun, actually.
The Sherrod Library’s third floor has open arms for anyone who wants to read and learn, though the other floors are just as enthusiastic. When taken advantage of regularly, the rainbow-like selection of texts and audio-visual stimuli found in the library give the unsure college student a “butterfly in the sky/I can fly twice as high” attitude.
Oh, woe to us with so much to read, so much to interpret, internalize, discuss and comprehend! The days of careless childhood are over, and long are the hours of diligent study and meditation, cappuccino breaks and the asking of questions such as “Who am I?” and “Where do I belong?”
A meditative jaunt across the ETSU campus after a life-changing trip to the Sherrod Library’s third-floor book collection can be just the fun you need to have college stories to tell your grandchildren for years to come.
A roll in the grass, kick of the leaves and silent dialog with the trees on campus are way more fun than watching TRL will ever be.
The squirrels that inhabit this natural environment are, for the most part, super-friendly. So friendly, in fact, that they will lend you parent and roommate advice, help you with your term papers and even lend you cash.
All of this, of course, in exchange for your tender, impressionable college soul!
In the end, college is what you make of it. So, make it. And by golly, make it great!

Author