Wednesday, November 11, 2009

On being a student

Like Erin, I fail at blogging. I’m sorry. Despite my whining about not having a life, I actually do some stuff some times.
Part of my life, a rather large part actually, is my current job as a student. Yes, I just called it my job, because that’s what it is. I am in the fortunate position of being paid to go to school, which is both awesome and frightening. It is awesome because it means that not only do I go to school for free, I also get a certain amount of money each month for living expenses. It is frightening because it brings a certain amount of responsibility to pass my classes, show up to lecture, and work hard on projects and assignments. It is also frightening because even though I get ‘free money’ every month, it is not nearly enough to live the kind of life I would like to live. It covers rent, food, my books, and a little bit of fun. So far, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to get by without a part time job, but it is also hard to see how I would find time to add a serious time commitment like a ‘real’ job. It is also really hard to save any money or put anything aside for fun/big stuff, such as travelling. I guess once again I can only conclude that this is why I’m going to school: I’m hoping that down the road I will be able to lead a more comfortable lifestyle.

Don’t take this as whining though. I am very well aware of how lucky I am and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to continue being a student. Despite the whole ‘not-having-money-eating-spaghetti-with-ketchup-by-the-end-of-the-month’ thing, being a student is really awesome. It is a lifestyle that is all its own and we can make it into whatever we want. I can party on the weekends and spend all day Sunday watching reruns of my favorite shows. Sometimes, I get to read about organizational theory into the middle of the night because I chose to hang out with friends the night before. I can go to Ikea during the day on a Wednesday because I don’t have classes, and I have every single Friday off to do with as I please. I can live for a very small amount of money in student housing, and enjoy the pleasures of sharing a kitchen with 14 other students. Life is good.

Can I just be a college kid forever? (Is this real life? Is this gonna last forever??)

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