Rant & Rave

By Lance Nitahara

Anticipation grows as you begin to hear stories about college from friends who recently have begun their collegiate journey. You hear mostly about how punctuality and attendance are not essential to success. It seems that all you need is a tape recorder, a friend with a proficiency for note-taking, and the schedule of your major tests and exams.

You also hear about freedom; how dorm dwellers go out and get drunk every night and still easily find time to cram for an exam the next day. In high school I filled my mind with visions of wild parties, laid-back college life, and best of all, independence.

Yes folks, no more meddling, hassling parents to obey for as long as you live under their roof. No more curfews, no more torment over a messy bedroom, and finally, no one to stir you from a blissful slumber to tell you to get your butt to school on time.

The latter I found increasingly unpleasant over the years and I was ready to take on this cool college thing. Boy was I wrong.

I almost destroyed my college career within my first semester. I woke up not a moment too soon and realized what I had been doing. I hope I can reach those who would have fallen as I almost did.

Yes Lance, be careful what you wish for. It might come true ... my wish for escape from high school turned into a desperate plea to return home. And I felt like crying for mommy.

AT first I was delighted to find that all the stories I heard in high school were, in fact, true. I studied minimally at first and graduated to ignoring regular study, except the night before tests and project due dates.

I had made suitable living arrangements near campus, "suitable" meaning far from my parents. Life without parents was great. I went wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. There was no one to badger me about studying. There were parties galore and the term "school night" quickly lost all meaning. I was amazed to find how easy it is to persuade yourself to skip your first morning class in exchange for an extra hour of sleep.

I was juggling my social life with my studies, which by then were simply a part-time activity. But I soon learned my grades were to be the sacrifice for such a flamboyant lifestyle.

I lost all sense of what little study habits I had acquired in high school. My whole concept of time management had strolled out the nearest door at the first party I attended. It was easy to say that it was O.K. to go out tonight if you crammed for the exam the next day, because the word "cram" is easy to say. Try it. "Cram, cram, cram ..."

Somehow cramming never worked as effectively as everyone said it would. The information I tried so hard to stuff into my cranial cavity as fast as humanly possible seemed to always escape somewhere between my morning shave and the parking lot. It must have been in my facial hair. And there always seemed to be too many exam questions pertaining to information discussed in class, which I happened to sleep through. I won't disclose my final grades for that semester, but rest assured, they were lower than you think.

Yup, I know how incredibly great it feels to finally be able to make all your own decisions without having to listen to your school and parents dictate how they want things done. But as a self-governing individual, you have to remember that you are in college with the intent to learn; all of the freedom and fun that comes along is simply a bonus.

Don't get me wrong, having a good time is very important. Play hard but don't overdo it. Your grades and your future may take a serious beating for it.