With my graduation from university fast approaching, I often make comments like this:
“I’m SO ready to be done with school!”
And that often gets met with replies like this:
“You’ll miss it in a few years though ;)”
I know a lot of people do miss school after a few years in the “real world”, but I don’t think I’ll be one of them.
Everyone is different! Not everyone loved or will miss school
I never liked school. The last time I even kind of liked it was in middle school when I was surrounded by the people I grew up with since pre-school. And even then, I liked it for the people alone. But after that (high school and university), I hated the academic part of school and didn’t even like the social part either. There was nothing there for me.
On the academic side, I never felt like I actually learned anything. Even when I went to university and could pick my own classes, I was always ahead of them. I took web design classes but was already the next level up (self-taught FTW!). I took animation classes and learned that I HATE ANIMATION AND NEVER WANT TO DO IT AGAIN. I took film classes and learned that I hate filming. For the things that were useful (web design), I was already ahead of the game. For the other subjects, I just really REALLY didn’t like them.
And in many cases, I felt like I was just studying pointless facts all for the purpose of getting a little piece of paper that says: “Congratulations! You’re smart and you deserve a good job!”
On the social side, I never met people in university that I really clicked with. I’m not super social to begin with, but I’m actually really picky about the people I want to hang out with. I think the main reason is because I’m a homebody! I like to stay home, read, and blog. I’d rather do that then go out or party, which is what 99% of people in university like to do.
What did university hold?
- Taking classes that I was too advanced for
- Taking classes I couldn’t stand
- Learning things that I’ll never use again (calculus, I’m looking at you)
- Studying things that I forgot the second the exam ended
- No like-minded people I wanted to be friends with
What does my future hold?
- Being with a husband who is my best friend and the love of my life
- Doing what I do best: teaching myself coding
- Working with clients to create websites
- Feeling like what I do is actually important. Instead of studying topics that I will NEVER EVER use, I’m creating beautiful blog designs or important websites to promote peoples’ businesses. I feel like what I’m doing actually matters and serves a purpose.
- Teaching other people design/development (I’ve been thinking of running an e-course)
Everyone has a different experience
I guess the point of this post is just that everyone is different. I got sick of people telling me I’d miss school when there’s nothing there for me to miss. Just because they miss it doesn’t mean everyone will. I’m sure a lot of people do miss those days because it was “easier” or because they had so many great friends.. and that’s fair enough. But high school/college was not the “best years of my life”, as it is for so many people. And paying bills? Really not that bad (for me).
I just think that everyone is different and each person has his or her own “best years” of their life. For some, that may be university. For others, it may be when they finally get their dream job and feel like they’re actually starting their lives. But not everyone is going to desperately want to go back to college years.
why on earth would anyone actually MISS school? Gah. I hated all my schooling, couldn’t wait to be out of there. I finished high school – good marks – and went straight out to work. LOL. ‘Course, that was easier back then – in the time of the dinosaurs – as a uni degree wasn’t as needed as it seems to be today (unless you were looking at an actual “career” like medicine etc as opposed to a “job”). But I can’t picture ever missing school…ugh. 😀
I wish that’s how it still was. College shouldn’t be required because what you actually learn in college is so pointless for so many people.. unless you do want to go into medicine or law or something, then at least it makes sense.
Everyone is really different and your circumstances (self-employed) might mean you don’t miss it. By graduation year I was totally over the whole thing and couldn’t wait to be finished. I never really participated much in “the student lifestyle” because I chose to stay at home instead of moving into student accommodation. And I don’t regret that at all really. But I graduated two years ago now, and there are times I miss it, and I’m surprised at that. It could be to do with the other things that were going on in my life during that time that makes me miss those years, but after working full time for two years, you do miss the freedom of being a student. There are of course perks now too, like a regular and decent paycheck, but still….*nostalgia*
People always told me I would miss high school and they would say things like “It’s true–these really are the best years of your life.” I definitely DO NOT miss high school, not even a little. Sometimes I miss my high school friends, but other than that–nope.
I do miss college though. I love school! I love learning, I love getting to pick my classes, and I kinda even enjoy taking tests. I like the challenge of it all–but if I was like you, and already knew more than what the classes were teaching, I’d probably have a similar experience. I liked my college classes when they were challenging(but not overwhelming hard). The few classes in which I already knew all the material made me a bit resentful, so I can only imagine if that had been my entire curriculum.
It’s great that you’re loving college! I think some people see high school as the highlight and others love college a lot more.
I think my problem is just that I’ve always been self-taught and that works for me. I don’t like sitting in a classroom and listening to people ramble on and on. 😛
I didn’t miss school at all. Not high school and not Univ. I think the best years of my life are right here right now 🙂
High five!
I was so glad to be done with college, too. I’ve been out of grad school for 7 years (I’m so old!) and I’ve never missed school at all. I knew I wouldn’t miss it when it was over either.
Of course, there are certain things that I do miss about life in college – like months-long breaks. And I do feel like I learned things that I have brought to my job now (I’m a public librarian) that I didn’t learn from the regular classes. I don’t feel like college was a waste of time, and I’m glad I have that experience. I know some people who really regret not getting that kind of experience. However, I’m glad it’s over, and I’m never going back to school.
As for the social side of school – I never made tons of friends, either. I had a core few, and I kept it at that. I do think that less than 99% of college students just want to go out to parties. Those that like to relax at home (I was definitely one of those kids – and still am really) maybe are just a bit more quiet. However, as an adult, I must say that it is incredibly difficult to make friends when you aren’t in college anymore. When I graduated from college I didn’t worry about drifting away from my core friends, but I did. And I’ve struggled with finding new friends now. I don’t really want a ton of friends, just a few that I can grab dinner with, or go to the movies with. It’s been very hard finding new ones. That’s one thing that I miss about college so much – how finding new friends was always a possibility (even if you’re the quiet girl who would rather read than go to parties).
Yeah the month-long breaks are nice! Although even those are gone in some high schools. Well, not ‘gone’, but in my high school we’d often get a one month break and then get slapped with a 100 page workbook we had to complete over that one month. So really it’s the same amount of work, but work from home instead of class. What’s the point of a break if you have to do work during it??? GOSH!
I always sucked at making friends, both inside and outside of school x_x Right now my closest friend is probably the employee at Starbucks who’s really nice and always says, “Hi Ashley” when I come in.
You hit the nail on the head with this post. I’m about to start my sophomore year of college and in all honesty I really don’t want to go back. I don’t mind the social aspect of college. I have found some friends, although I don’t know how long they will stick around. I hate the academic portion. I’m an education major and I just feel like they are not teaching us how to be teachers, but instead just lecturing on the content we will be teaching which we can find in any textbook. I’m ready to be done and be a teacher.
You’re so right. A lot of school is just regurgitating text book info. It’s not helpful at all! Why do we have to pay to go to school if we can just look up all those details online or in a textbook on our own? Not cool!
Haha! This reminds me when everyone was telling me that “college will be the best years of my life.” Umm… No. I wouldn’t count it as the best years of my life. Honestly, I really won’t miss school. I love learning new things, but I don’t get the point of exams and quizzes. & Socially, I’ve only made a handful of life long friends in college and high school anyway. The only thing I think I’ll miss is the breaks! Like summer break and winter break. I know for a fact that I’m going to hate having to plan my vacation around the number of vacation days I have. That’s going to suck…
I completely agree! I think quizzes and tests are so pointless. It’s like: “Let’s see how much you can remember for this one test, then you’ll forget it all the second after you’re done.” Bleh. How pointless.
But yeah I do agree about vacations. A limited number of vacation days sucks!
I am one of those who loves school. I find myself going back often to take random classes. At least with you, you know what you DONT like because of college. You know exactly were your passion is because you took other classes that didn’t interest you. That’s a win. I too found out I have no interest in animation because of the classes I took.
I am not a partier either. So college was both good and bad. I wasn’t as social as I would have Liked to be. I don’t know if it’s sad or not but I don’t think I have reached the “best years” of my life yet. However, for the first time I find myself loving my job. It’s only part time, but I have been working for Tutorial Services at my school for the past half year and I just can’t get enough. I never want to leave. For the first time, I don’t want to go to class, I want to stay at work. I now am in charge of all the student employees even though I am still a student employee myself because my boss loves me and sees how hard I work. It feels so good to be recognized!
Meh, I wish I had actually skipped college all together-it ended up being a total waste of money. Of course, I probably shouldn’t have majored in Creative Writing, with a Poetry emphasis :p I’ve been paying on student loans for eleven years now (!!) and I still owe around $18,000 sigh…..
I really think it depends on the person. I would give anything to go back to college. For me, it was an amazing experience. In high school, I was the shy weird kid who read books. In college, I was a social butterfly. I wasn’t out every night or even every weekend, but it’s not like I never went to a frat party, hahaha I still even remember several frat chants from parties I went to. Like, I made the most of my college experience. I participated in clubs, was on several executive boards, had a well paying job (student manager and I was able to read books and do homework and still bring home much higher pay than minimum wage). My classes were interesting – I was an education major with a concentration in history and my professors were awesome. I look at it this way, college isn’t just about what you sit and learn in class, but about networking, about learning to be a leader, and for me, really discovering who I am as a person. Some of my best friends are from college – in fact, next one I am going to one college friend’s wedding. I guess I just got out of college what I put into it. I had this really great experience but I realize not everyone will have that experience and not everyone is as socially inclined or outgoing or extroverted as I was.
There are multiple answers to your questions. Personally, I love school. I always enjoy learning and in my professional field (healthcare), degrees open doors.
Will you use everything you learn? No. I hate Math and I was happy to get a D in pre-cal and move on! But I think that a degree is something you should finish if you have the chance, something you can rely on because you never know what waits for your in a few years.
I definitely don’t miss school. I don’t miss the loads of pointless homework. I never had a ton of friends in college because like you I’m very picky about my friends. I tend to not get along with people my age so I never got really close to anyone in college. The only thing that I really miss are the breaks. Lol Summer break, winter break, and spring break. *sigh* I miss those. But would I go back to writing papers and doing a million stupid group projects again to get them? Eh… maybe… but probably not. I’ll just use my vacation time at work. Lol
P.S. You should totally teach an online course! I feel like you would be so good at that!
You will miss school?
…
AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAH!!!!
No, seriously. When I was at school, people told me to “enjoy” it since it was the “best years”. Well ok. I was bored at school and I had a blast as soon as I got a real job. I felt like I was finally doing something practical, useful and meaningful. I could learn stuff and apply them. Efforts were rewarded with money (even if not much). I had choices, responsibility and cool challenges.
I didn’t absolutely hate school, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best part of my life. Or even a great time. Or even a cool time. It was just a… clumsy preparation for my adult life, shall we say (nicely).
I graduate from school in December and will definitely not miss it! I’m sooo ready to be done with homework and tests 😛 My internship this summer has been great and has really shown me the type of job I want when I graduate from college. I really enjoy working on web applications and can’t wait to do it for a living =D
I feel almost the exact same way. I just graduated, too. While I actually enjoyed a lot of my program and learned a lot from it, I think the best years of my life are about to start. I got the job I wanted. I’m going to be working in a great school system. I’m going to get the best of both worlds: edtech integration AND books. Throughout my whole program I was just ready to get in a school library and get to work, and I’m so glad that’s about to happen. I think it’s going to make me really happy. I sure as hell won’t be missing school. If I ever go back for a PhD or something, it will be many many years from now.
I am 32 years old, and never once have I missed school. I have wished that I had put more effort into classes and work, and made better grades because I know that I could have done MUCH better, but I have never wished that I could go back. Ugh! HECK no. Uh uh, no thank you. It was never a place where I was happy. My best years of life are right this very minute. With my husband and our dogs and amazing family, and future little one. I would never take high school back, because I would never give up the happiness and contentment that I have right now. So, you are absolutely not alone! Enjoy real life and your amazing husband, as you should!
I think I kinda won’t miss it in a way, but I will kinda do as well. School has been a bitch to me lately, but that’s only because this year is the year where universities will take a good look at you. I’ve been crying because of the stress..so I haven’t been writing any bloggy stuff lately…But on the other hand, I’m excited for college. I plan on studying fashion design where I get to design beautiful wedding gowns for cool brides! hihi
This is so true on many levels. I don’t know about missing university yet, but like you, I’m not exactly the most sociable person, and while I met a few good friends, I don’t think they’re lifelong connections. I also studied really hard for things I forgot the day after the exam, and had a lot of classes I didn’t give two shits about.
As for high school, I graduated four years ago, and I haven’t missed it for a second.
Exactly! So much of it feels pointless, especially the “general education” classes I had to take. Like when I had to take geology O_O GEOLOGY! I’ve forgotten everything from that class. What was the point?
I studied languages, and I had to learn about the Bible and I even had an art class connected to the Bible. I had to be able to analyse biblical paintings and I heard biblical operas and read biblical poems. Absolutely ridiculous.
I don’t miss school either and I’ve been out for 9 years. I was a nursing major, so I enjoyed it and felt like what I was being taught was worthwhile, but I have no desire to go back. The best years of my life are right now – with little kiddos. But I hope I feel that way when they’re older, and then again when they move out. It can be so easy to dwell in the past and miss the joys of the present. I don’t want to do that. 🙂
Yeah, I’ve been (dropped) out of college for 6 years now and I don’t miss it one little bit! In fact, I hated it so much that I never want to go back, even though I probably need to. I have better things to do with my time than sit in a stuffy classroom learning about things that bore me to death and are completely useless in real life!
School: the place where you go and actually pay money to work, have to work hard to keep grades up and graduate, if you fail or fall behind, people crawl up your butt about it, you lose many decent nights of sleep in the process of all that hard work, possibly permanently crippling your future health, and no matter how well you do, it offers you no promises or guarantees in the employment world. The only reason I put up with it all, from preschool to Bachelor’s degree, was because between this and truant officers roughing me up about it I decided on the former.
I’m glad school is gone from my life forever, and frankly, it’s the only portion of my life which if I had to do over again, I would, and would spend it doing anything else.