moving in day & memories

I live near a university and last weekend was moving in day.

It was packed with parents and new students and those coming back and renewing relationships and unloading and facing the unknown and everything that college is all about.

Beyond the fact looking at all these fresh young faces made me feel pretty frickin’ old … it did bring back memories.

Firsts.

Freshness.

Fun.

Friendships.

Fears.

Family.

Fame

Failure.

Fate.

Facing the unknown.

(it seems like i could discover a lot of F’s to use)

Driving thru campus you see it all and remember. The step from high school to college is a leap. A huge leap across a chasm.

Yeah. But everyone gets across (no one actually tells you that when you get there though).

But once across it is as if you have entered a new country.  You have become a citizen of someplace new with new rules and a slightly different constitution and ‘declaration of independence.”

Even the non freshman years are steps. Renewed friendships. Different challenges.  New fears. New failures.  New successes.

It is a fact. College teaches 2 lessons.  Education and life.  and, by the way, that is one of the reasons why I am a huge proponent of having someone go to college. While I am not sure (ok.  I am actually sure on this one) everyone who goes to college is smarter than peple who do not go to college I do believe the life experiences are invaluable for dealing with things later on).

Anyway. I believe that many who fail in college classes fail not because of lack of brain power but because they fail at the life trials they are tasked with.

And I thought as i looked around me driving through campus which of the fresh faces I saw today will succeed and which will fail?

I admit it brought back so many personal memories. Memories of how I danced upon my own precipice of failure several times. Looking back it is easier to see what happened.

At the time my parents were sure I would fall. They believed I would fall because of the education challenges. They didn’t believe I was up to those challenges (or maybe better said they were unsure I was smart enough).

If I knew then what I know now I would have told them it wasn’t the education. It was life. I danced with death on the precipice of life. I doubt I could have explained it well enough to be accepted by them but I see it now. And I wonder which of these young faces will dance the same dance.

It also reminds me why I like to teach. And why people ask me to teach.  I always weave in a life lesson to the education lesson. I absolutely believe knowledge is power. And teach that way. But I also know that even the smartest have to face life.  And life is a shitload tougher than any college class you can take (although it may not seem that way at the time).

And college is just one big life trial.

Its kind of like a trial run for life and career. It is certainly a trial run for who you will end up being in life – character, resiliency, respect, etc.

Anyway.

Moving in day also reminds me of what changes and what stays the same.

The hair styles stay the same (although the women may sport more variety of colors than in my day).  Short hair is cool as is long hair. Just depends on what kind of cool you want to be.

Hats. Baseball hats. Panama hats. Floppy hats.  Beanies.  Whatever.  Hats.

Tight clothes and baggy clothes. Just depends on what statement you want to make.

This year?  Big colored sunglasses on girls. It used to be the big black jackie onassis sunglasses but that’s now for older women. Today its about colors and big RayBan looking colored framed sunglasses (I saw yellow, white, pink, red, blue and multiple variations of those colors).

I think every fashion designer should attend a moving in day just to get a sense of what is “in” and what isn’t.

There is also a sense of energy and excitement and angst that is difficult to explain but you wish you could put in a jar like you did fireflies and hope it wouldn’t dim despite the fact you tried to capture something that was never meant to be captured.

College moving in day.

Fun day.

A memory day.

Written by Bruce