Senior Send-Off: Sports editor offers maturing advice
Over the past four years at Rider, I have heard the advice that every other student here has also had drilled into their heads: to network and not be afraid to try new things because you never know what might happen. While that is true, there is something that most people don’t realize when they are at college: to know when you have to grow up.
Students come to college and get to experience the independence they have been dreaming of, going out and socializing in any way they please. Most students get to experience their 21st birthday while at college, which for some is more memorable than others. And for many students, college is a time to “live it up.” Most students, myself included, came to college as immature adolescents who took a little time adjusting to the freedom of college. The first couple years are spent having fun and hanging out with friends. After that, however, is when certain students separate themselves from others.
Students fail to realize that whether you like it or not, you’re graduating and venturing into the work world. Even if you plan on going to graduate school, sooner or later school ends. That being said, it is normal for some people to still go out and have fun during the last couple years of college, but you would be foolish not to take advantage of what is in front of you. The phrase, “Hi, I am a student at…” is a term that most people will take for granted when they graduate. Once that happens, the phrase turns into: “Hi, my name is…” and suddenly the ‘student’ factor is gone. Most professionals in any business like helping out students because they have all been there at one point. They are more likely to get help than an unemployed graduate living at home.
College is just a four-year party for some, and they enjoy every minute of it. Some will have jobs after graduation and others won’t. If that is what makes them happy, then good for them, but don’t complain about not having a job when you chose to go out instead of taking advantage of an internship or getting a job that takes up a lot of free time. Sacrificing some social time for the chance of getting a job seems well worth it in the long run, even though it may be awful when you are the only one not going out on certain nights. This does not mean not to have fun and go out during the last years at college. It simply means that we all have to grow up and mature. We have to find the right balance of fun and work because that is what adults do, and whether students like it or not, we are adults now.
– Josh Veltrie
Outgoing Sports Editor
