The Implications: Theory Plus Practice 101

There is a dream held by many children around the world that in some cases materializes and in others it simply remains a dream that follows them everyday until it begins to haunt them if it is never reached. There are many other children, however, who have never heard of such dream. College is a dream that seems so far away when one starts school at a very early age; but which one learns is attainable, as one grows older. One must remain in school and earn good marks in order to be able to attend college. There is also the cost issue, but that does not seem to stop many if they really wish to attend an institution of higher education. Yet, it is a dream that many seek to achieve although for different motives. More than a dream, college is also a rollercoaster of enjoyment, an enlightening incident, a nightmare, an escalator of growth, and a safety net.
There are many who know about the dream and who choose to let it walk by. Their reasoning is perhaps based on past unjustifiable mistakes or in a different dream, which they hope will provide a better future than college would. Most of these people, however, do no realize that they are merely exchanging future stability for the ever-fleeing present delight. There are, of course, other options that vary according to the person since there are many who have accomplished their heart desires’ without necessarily attending college. Yet, the fact that it has happened does not mean it always will. It is an unreliable option.
One goes to college expecting to learn a life lesson and hoping that upon abandoning the institution one is fully prepared to engage in real life. Much to the contrary, once one is actually in college, one finds out that college will perhaps do as we hoped, but it will do so in its own twisted ways. College, one learns, is a time to enjoy life. One has many liberties that were not previously enjoyed and advantage of such is taken plenty. The joy is never ending because there is always something new and exciting to be discovered. Many of those things lead to positive paths; others lead to damnation where what has been lost will never be recuperated. But such mistakes and experiences are an important part of the college experience.
It is inevitable that college will be an enlightening incident as well. Despite the efforts to focus on the fun encountered during those years, one learns much more than one had expected the day one’s parents left one outside the dorm building. One learns not only the difficulty of acquiring all the responsibilities that one’s parents took care of at home, which included but are not limited to paying the bills, making sure one arrives home alive and well at night and feeding oneself. One learns that there is another world outside the bubble one had lived in. There are simple lessons to be learned such as complicated math and how to write a proper analytical essay among the hundreds of other available subjects, but there are other important lessons that are not directly addressed inside a classroom: everyday survival.
College is also dreadful due to the innumerable assignments, exams, readings, countless nights spent at the library and the like. But that is small price to pay. In that process, one also dismisses all the mistakes one has made while walking that path in the hopes that they’ll remain part of only a nightmare and thus unreal. Yet, the most terrifying bit is that one is mostly alone and independent. Along the way, one also grows or at least hopes to do so. One must mature and become a better person once all the pieces of the puzzle are properly arranged together.
Finally, college is a safety net. It will not matter how many times one fails attempting triumph, one can always rely on that college diploma as a flashlight to find new opportunities and a settee to rest when those opportunities do not produce the expected results.
Whether pleasant or painful, every single memory shall be greatly cherished. Additionally, if one falls while reaching for the stars, the fall, though frightening, will be amusing. In the process, a lesson must be learned so that the next time one tries, one arrives at the stars. In the meantime, however, the clouds will be there to hold one.


xoxo,
Poison Drops


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