"Look at our life to-dos. We have to make names for ourselves and become
financially established. We have to get educated, find decent jobs, pay
our rent and maintain pleasant attitudes. We have to respect familial
responsibility and - while avoiding drinking too much - enjoy ourselves
while we're young.
We have to hit the sack early, catch the bus, save our money, find
spouses, raise kids and support the economy. Did I mention we need
degrees?
The potential Post-Its!
But wait, where's the manual for this life? Why do we do these things?
I've found (with my ripe and immature understanding of the world) that
we expect it of each other. That's all.
Still, there's something hair-raising about taking a break or, God
forbid, dropping out of college. Conversations turn wide-eyed and
humorless on the topic of education, like we're all Pip from "Great
Expectations," longing to be gentlemen and never work for Joe.
There lurks in the background of everyday life my fear of becoming a
stray in the eyes of society. That I, with a Pabst in hand, will raise
kids in Athens who'll spend - like their father - all their income on
clothes, all their time gossiping and all their nights loitering
downtown for memories.
Our educations come closer every day to defining us completely.
Lost Boy
One University of Georgia student isn't so sure a college diploma is the key to success and enlightenment, despite what he's been hearing from authority figures his whole life. From The Red and Black.