Can I Go Back To College?

Let's be honest, growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be.

In college, I couldn't wait to graduate.

I wanted to have more time to spend with Mark. I wanted to have free time after work to just relax and watch TV. I didn't want any assignments or projects to stress me out or silly deadlines to meet. I was sick of group projects and other people's laziness and most importantly, I was sick of volunteering my time, I was ready to get paid.

Plain and simple, I thought all those people who said college was the easiest time of their life were crazy.

Are you thinking I am crazy yet!?

If you are questioning my sanity, a little history lesson on me might help. In college, I was a serious over achiever. I traveled more places than I could dream of. I volunteered to be in charge of everything I possibly could. I waitressed at Buffalo Wild Wings every spare moment and I was a bit picky about my GPA. And I still managed to find time to enjoy college (aka go to Chubs Pub) every now and again.

But the schedule was exhausting.

Thus, my dream to be a grown-up with a "relaxing life."

But here's what I failed to realize:

1. College has naps.
2. College has all of your best friends down the hall.
3. At college, it was okay to go to the bar for lunch and then supper and head back that way for the 9 pm specials. Unfortunately, as a grown-up with a full-time job, your boss is not usually okay with noon happy hour.
4. BWW could be a mindless job if necessary. Being an editor rarely offers a mindless opportunity.
5. It was okay to vent about teachers, group members & your drunk friend who pissed you off. It is not okay to complain about these type of people to anyone except your husband anymore. And eventually, even he stops listening.
6. Weekends were weekends. You could wake up a noon on Saturday and not feel like you missed out on 5 hours of precious time.
7. College trips were usually free and you could just skip class and make it up later. Vacations are still worth the money, but I am starting to question if "vacation time" is.
8. No one cared if your old, crappy, $240-a-month apartment was clean. Standards are definitely raised when you have a nice, grown-up town home to live in.
9. You could have a little extra fun on a Wednesday night and not care if you would be feeling the repercussions for the next three days. In fact, you didn't feel repercussions at all. If necessary, you could wake up and do it all over again the next morning.
10. It was completely acceptable to not know what you want to do with your life in college. I'm starting to realized that by almost-24 and married, most assume you have it figured out.

Basically, I'm realizng if you are an over-achiever in college and in high school, you are probably going to be an over-achiever in life. It's not going to stop when you graduate.

So here's my advice: learn to under-achieve. Just kidding...kind of.

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To all my lucky friends still in college, please live in the moment. Don't wish it away (and let me come re-live it whenever I can); all those crazy people were right. It is four great years of your life. Make it worth remembering.

And for me? I am learning to enjoy an exhausting schedule and getting a little more used to saying "no." It's a powerful word. And, while I might hate myself for sleeping in until 6:45, it was an extra 30 minutes with my husband right? And who was I kidding? Group projects, deadlines and working for free? That stuff never goes away.

And finally, I am definitely not going to wishing away my 20s. Or my happily-married-with-no-kids lifestyle. I am enjoying every second of it while it lasts. :)

Enjoy your Wednesday! Make it worth remembering!

xo,