Real world doesn’t match up
COMMENTARY
Lauren Cates

I received a scary envelope in my TCU mailbox last week.

It wasn’t test results or a letter from a relative. It wasn’t even hate mail from some past reader of an article I had written, infuriated with my opinion.

It was worse: a letter asking if I would like to apply to the Mortar Board for my fourth and final year at TCU.

The reality of the situation set in as I read the first line: “Dear Seniors ...”

Ahhhh! Seniors!

It was at that moment that I realized they were indeed, addressing me and no it had not been a mistake. The point in my college years that I feared the most was now finally coming to fruition.

You may be wondering why I fear becoming a senior and moving on to bigger and better things. It’s not from a lack of preparation, because after three years of being hounded by my parents to join every club, society and accept every internship opportunity offered, my resume seems up to the challenge of facing the real world. All that’s left is the interview process, complete with my plastered on “sorority rush” smile I’ve patented these past three years.

My parents even tried to bribe me with half my tuition money to graduate a semester early and leave TCU in search of a job. I think the silence on my end of the phone line was answer enough for them.

The person who first wrote that college is a four-year paid vacation is the embodiment of why leaving college for the drudgery of the real world seems so unappealing. Sure, the parties get old, seeing the same people gets old and the classes certainly do get old, but being in college surely can never get old, even if you are by that point.

After two summers of internships that were for the most part good learning experiences (I became an eBay expert during one and read the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy at the other), I can safely say that I’ve seen what’s out there, and while it looks fine and dandy, I prefer my college-sleeping-until-1 p.m. schedule over the sitting-in-the-cubicle schedule. This whole process of actually thinking about life after graduation has even scared me enough to consider law school.

We all know what happens once you go out into the real world. It’s a 9-to-5 schedule, not going out on weeknights and if you do, you’ll pay at work the next morning. Happy Hour is your night out, not the beginning of it. It’s when your mom and dad start bugging you to settle down and start a nice family, like they did a quarter of a century ago when people got married at, say, 14.

So when I get those mass e-mails advertising Career Night that begin “Hey Seniors ... Doesn’t that sound nice?” my answer is a resounding no. I’m still hoping some of the current seniors will hang around and make life more interesting.

So juniors, run and hide, flunk some of those classes and retake them. There’s no need to overachieve when you can hang around school for a little longer. Maybe the economy will get better while you’re hanging around. Sure, it won’t be the same with all your friends gone.

But you can have a hearty laugh when they’re getting up at 6 a.m. and you’re sleeping until noon after a good night out after a hard mid-term.

Lauren Cates is a junior advertising/public relations major from Houston. She can be reached at (l.e.cates@tcu.edu).