Carpe Diem

This June, one more generation of Cal State Long Beach graduates will take its place in the world. Student loans will come due, resumes will fly to the hands of prospective employers and soon after discarding cap and gown, many graduates will ask themselves, "Was it worth it?"

A good question, a question genuinely worth examining, especially by those among us who will be staying on here at dear ol' CSULB.

If, at the end of one's time here at the Beach, all one has to show for five or six years of study and hard work is a degree of dubious marketability and a dizzying student loan debt to work off, the answer is probably no, it wasn't worth it.

If, however, one has gained priceless experience, an appreciation of culture and has undergone personal growth during his or her time in college, (in addition to that precious piece of paper), the answer must be a resounding "yes."

Those among us who spend their college years simply preparing themselves to become working-world drones are missing the point of higher education. A university is not a vocational school and shouldn't be treated like one.

Plowing through college courses, sacrificing what one enjoys, to prepare for what one hopes will be a lucrative field may pay off. "When I graduate and start making money..." starts many an undergraduate statement of assurance in a rosy future, secured by years of grim self-denial and nose-to-the-grindstone perseverance in school.

The sad truth is that those who defer living while in college with a "when I graduate things will be peachy" promise to themselves, often continue in the same vein once they finish school.

"Once I get a job/promotion/raise things will be peachy, and then life'll really start, boy. I'll be happy. People will like me. Women will find me suave and debonair. I'll be able to afford that car and, as we all know, chicks dig a cat with a cool set of wheels. Plus I can by all those wonderful toys! Those'll make me happy, boy. Yeah, soon as I get that job/promotion/raise life'll really start."

These people make great worker ants, and are every boss' wildest dream come true, but in the great scheme of things they're suckers, and the attitude that does them in often starts in college.

The university should be where students become truly aware of their world, and of all of the possibilities contained in it. Art, music, food, play and inter-personal bio-chemical reactions are what have lent life its greatest appeal since time began. There is plenty of time for industry, and without industry the pursuit of the above pleasures becomes sloth. But without these pleasures, industry becomes toil.

So if you will be graduating this June and are having difficulty deciding if the time you spent in college was worth the payoff, keep in mind that the payoff should have been the experience itself.