9.14.13

Breakfast: Chickfila chicken biscuit
Lunch: Cape Cod potato chips
Dinner: Little Caesars deep dish pizza


College Football.

Need I say more?


For me, this is the first college football season I am truly spending away from my alma mater and the truth is: I miss it.

Missing college football and the college atmosphere in general has really caused me to spend too much time reminiscing about my experience with higher education. With all of these thoughts running around and memories being replayed in my head I have come to the conclusion that I have one, and only one, regret. Ready for it?

I regret leaving early.

In every way possible, I regret leaving college early.

In 4 years I accomplished a great deal of education. An amount of education that I easily could have spread across 6 years. So why then did I leave early and only take 4 years? Other than the financial benefit, I don't know. I regret going so fast. I regret leaving early.

Football games and sporting events. 75% of the time I left these events by halftime. Why? Cause it was hot outside, I was lazy, and I probably just wanted to leave and go hangout with my girlfriend. What I would give to take all of those Saturdays back, stay until the end and scream my voice hoarse. I live further north now and am cold, I'm too busy for laziness, and we broke up. I regret leaving early.

Classes and lectures. Of course some of your best memories are made skipping class or ditching out early to go get a head start on the weekend. And some teachers really failed to stimulate my mind, so they sort of deserved to be ditched out on. But others. Others really challenged my thinking. They would stay late after class and say "I'll stick around to answer questions" or "come visit me during office hours"... and I never would. So many missed opportunities to further my education and maximize my intellect. I regret leaving early.

Hangouts and parties with friends. There's a word for this: FOMO. Stands for "Fear Of Missing Out." I do not have FOMO. I am the antithesis of FOMO. Why? Because I believe that I'm a party, so wherever I am is where the most fun is being had. But that doesn't mean that there weren't social gatherings where I should have stayed longer than I did so I could build stronger relationships and really invest in memory making with people who were also in the same stage of life as me. You know, the "I don't know what the heck I'm going to do after college but I guess that can wait cause I'm having so much fun right now" stage. I just imagine all the powerful, deep and meaningful conversations I missed out on having because I was tired from the football game I had already left early that day. I regret leaving early.

In every sense of the statement and it's application to my collegiate career, I regret leaving early. And while at times this regret saddens me, it also serves as an inspiring reminder for how to live right now. Plus, let's face it, this regret is a pretty awesome one to have. I mean, I could be the guy that has extreme "party" related regrets. Instead I'm sitting here pissed because, in my mind, I failed to truly maximize my opportunities, when I actually got more out of college than probably 95% of the students.

But maybe that's the burden of the passionate/involved student. Once you taste the koolaid, your thirst can never be quenched. Once you know how much the university and the collegiate experience have to offer you, enough is never enough. That's probably why so many of my friends stayed in Tally. That's probably why I want to someday get my PhD and become a professor.

I regret leaving early, but perhaps someday I'll come back.