My Life as a Twenty-Year-Old Who's Not in College

Being a college student is expensive. Not being a college student is also expensive. Living at home can be extremely boring without a list of tasks to complete, places to go, and people to see that guide your days. It is really strange to be at home when all your friends from school have begun their spring semesters...ok. That's a lie. It's not really that strange, and I wouldn't say it's uncomfortable, either. Boring? Yes, it is pretty boring, but boring suddenly becomes what you are doing right now. It's an in-between state that people spend so much of their lives in. I have not been in college for over a month now, and while that's about to change (a change which I mistakenly thought I would be prepared for--nope), I have noticed some things here and there that I think are worth mentioning.

Novel experiences I've had while not being in college:

I met a former classmate at the grocery store, where he was a grocery bagger and probably judging me for buying six candy bars (they're not for me, I swear). He was always a little strange, mostly in mannerisms, but not entirely unlikeable. He told me he was doing alright, and bragged to me that he was moving in with his girlfriend in Florida. (He has a girlfriend? Him? Something I never would have imagined happening to him. Hey, though, congratulations, man! Good for you!) Apparently they are pretty serious. He was working at the local grocery store trying to save up, because living in Florida is more expensive than where we live in North Carolina (which he complained about happily). As I left, I told him cheerfully to hang in there, and he replied, "Thanks! You too! Good luck with this semester!" Walking to my car, I wondered if he knew whether I was still in school or not. Maybe he just assumed that a person like me would be in college right now: a person with a lot of money saved, a studious person, a driven person, maybe a privileged person. The public university I go to is an hour and a half away from where I live, and it was a Wednesday afternoon, so maybe he thought I went to Wake Forest University, like I could ever afford to go there for a single class. Maybe he thought I went to Forsyth Tech Community College. Maybe he just assumed I was in college, just like I assumed he wasn't pursuing higher education at the moment. I didn't say, "Thanks, you too" after he wished me luck. I wonder if I should have assumed he wasn't taking classes at the local community college, or online, or at the UNC Greensboro. Where else but school would you meet someone who lives in Florida, become boyfriend and girlfriend, and decide to move in together? The internet, I guess....

I went to Best Buy to purchase an outlet adapter and some anti-virus software for my computer. The woman who checked me out had me enter into the Best Buy purchaser database pretty much everything except my social security number. I paid with a credit card, which necessitated showing her my license as well. "Looks like you've got a birthday coming up, huh?"
"Yup." (Ok, I'm not actually twenty, unless you read at the end of January.)
"You're just a little older than me. I turn twenty in October."
"Cool!"
"Yeah. I married early, a little less than a year ago."
"Well, congratulations," I said, surprised. I wish I had found someone.
"Yup, and I just gave birth to a little boy a month or two ago. I already have a little girl, too. I'm just here, making money to pay for my college education."
"Wow! Well, good luck!"
I was absolutely impressed with this woman. She was 19, had two kids and husband, a job, and was working on her college degree. She knew what she wanted and was doing what she needed to do to pursue it. I was very impressed.

I ran with the Twin City Track Club at the JDL Fast Track, one of the only two indoor tracks in North Carolina, also. The parents of a friend of mine just so happen to run with the Twin City Track Club, and I talked to them for a few minutes while stretching. They didn't recognize me, even though I have been friends with their daughter since high school, we played volleyball and ran track together, had classes together, and go to the same university now. I've been to their house! Whatever. My friend's mom had no clue who I was and had no idea I was a college student, going to the same university as their daughter, also preparing to travel (their daughter is in Spain right now), and I felt like I had to defend that I was an educated young person with goals and abilities, even though my friend's parents imposed no such assumptions. To be honest, I don't think it really mattered to them who I was anyway. While I was running, with a bunch of adults who were, for the most part, five to thirty-seven years older than me, no one asked me my age, whether I was in college, what I did for a living, or what my plans were. All that was important was running.

On Friday, my cousin invited me to eat lunch with her at the UNC School of the Arts, where she goes to high school. I love that there are these alternative high school programs available. Public school can be a drag and the freedoms and possibilities that come with going to high school at a university are incredible. Plus, you get a view like this from your classroom window.

The view of downtown from the UNCSA High School (Gray Building)

Additionally, you get to go to a school that has its own film studios, editing rooms, music halls, a Hollywood Boulevard, a Pickles Way (whatever that is- I just thought it was a funny name), and countless other artistic opportunities.

Hollywood Blvd and the film alley

Pickles Way

 Plus, the cafeteria is very pretty.

The food was very similar (same high quality) to that at UNC-CH

My cousin showed me around her school building and showed me the library, where we looked at Vogue magazines from the 1960s in the stacks and glanced into two pages of half of a conductor's score for a Verdi opera in the music library. Then, we split ways, and I briefly hitched myself to a tour group that was passing through. I slipped into the film studio for a quick peek, but nothing was going on. I wish I could go to the River Run Film Festival more often, some of which is held at the UNC School of the Arts, but I don't think I've gone even once in the past three years.

UNCSA's film school is a place where the professors are awesome enough that they can go to school dressed like they came out of the Matrix and get away with it.

In conclusion, no one really asks whether you're in college or not. They probably can't even tell your age, and they most likely won't ask. If they do voice their assumptions, you have the chance to defend yourself, explain yourself, or otherwise make your case for your lifestyle. There's nothing wrong with not being in college: though the degree is usually worth the trouble, it's expensive and not everyone has ever had access to it.

Other, unrelated profound novelties I noticed this week and before:

Awesome poster, but really an absolutely terrible movie. SRK, why did you do this one? WHY?


 I with a couple of friends to eat lunch with one of their sisters in our old middle school, a place we should all try to avoid. One of our old teachers vaguely recognized us and asked us if we were ready to start applying for college.

"WOW BIGMAC MEAL $490"
Looks like McDonald's is finally factoring in the cost of obesity into their food.

I may not blog again for another two years, so enjoy this one, readers!