I read this article on New York Times recently about the way young adults face adulthood, and their careers. It went into the whole thing where we’re living at home longer and taking on more student debt. It was the first article in a while, actually, where they didn’t completely trash millennials for their lives. It understood that the 1970s were the last time a large slice of the population didn’t need a college degree for financial success, the 1980s were the last time manufacturing jobs were plentiful, and that the price of college has increased dramatically. The article classifies the journey to adulthood into three categories.
The Sprinter is the type-A. The kid that picked a major early, got an internship before finishing English Comp and freaked out at the prospect of an A-. Everything is about moving up. The Sprinter is the one with the great job offers post-graduation or grad school plans somewhere that isn’t a last stitch effort to hold onto their teenage years. They face the world head on, and no one can stop them.
The Wanderer is the drifter. This one maybe took a little longer to decide on a major, maybe too long. The Wanderer does just that, wanders. This group is treading water after graduation. They are usually underemployed, and unsure of where they are going.
The Straggler is the leftover. The kid who didn’t go to college. Maybe they tried a semester of community college, or spent a few weeks with a trade. They’re the type that weren’t really college material, but were stuck with the one size fits all college idea. Because college isn’t for them, the Straggler can choose between a low paying job, or the military. They take even longer to settle.
I am a Wanderer, which is something I used to be proud of, until lately. Lately I’ve realized all it’s gotten me is a semester over in college, living with grandma, at a job not relevant to my degree while my numerous Sprinter friends are going to new places and having something exciting going on every time I see them. I feel like I’ve done college like the singular 5k I’ve done in my life. I started out at a steady pace, chilling, then all of a sudden I realized all the Sprinters were way ahead of me, then I panic because I don’t want to be behind to I sprint to catch up. Now I am out of breath and sick of the whole thing, and decide to walk again because I don’t give a shit. But then, oh no they’re all in front of me, I better hurry up. No wait, now I’m tired again. Oh hey I’m almost done, I’m gonna sprint to the end, because I am over this. I am never running a 5k again, and I don’t care about any of these people.
Yep, that's how college feels.
The Sprinter is the type-A. The kid that picked a major early, got an internship before finishing English Comp and freaked out at the prospect of an A-. Everything is about moving up. The Sprinter is the one with the great job offers post-graduation or grad school plans somewhere that isn’t a last stitch effort to hold onto their teenage years. They face the world head on, and no one can stop them.
The Wanderer is the drifter. This one maybe took a little longer to decide on a major, maybe too long. The Wanderer does just that, wanders. This group is treading water after graduation. They are usually underemployed, and unsure of where they are going.
The Straggler is the leftover. The kid who didn’t go to college. Maybe they tried a semester of community college, or spent a few weeks with a trade. They’re the type that weren’t really college material, but were stuck with the one size fits all college idea. Because college isn’t for them, the Straggler can choose between a low paying job, or the military. They take even longer to settle.
I am a Wanderer, which is something I used to be proud of, until lately. Lately I’ve realized all it’s gotten me is a semester over in college, living with grandma, at a job not relevant to my degree while my numerous Sprinter friends are going to new places and having something exciting going on every time I see them. I feel like I’ve done college like the singular 5k I’ve done in my life. I started out at a steady pace, chilling, then all of a sudden I realized all the Sprinters were way ahead of me, then I panic because I don’t want to be behind to I sprint to catch up. Now I am out of breath and sick of the whole thing, and decide to walk again because I don’t give a shit. But then, oh no they’re all in front of me, I better hurry up. No wait, now I’m tired again. Oh hey I’m almost done, I’m gonna sprint to the end, because I am over this. I am never running a 5k again, and I don’t care about any of these people.
Yep, that's how college feels.
