Why Community College Is Actually Pretty Great

So, seeing as I spent my last school year completing an internship in the middle of nowhere, this is what I like to call my first "official" year of college. I mean, sure, taking online classes can still gets you student discounts, and I was doing stuff, and getting credits. But online classes nowhere compare to actually going to school. Even if that school is a community college 20 minutes from home.

This month is going to be a tough one for me-- as I can already feel my demons coming towards me at full speed. Nearing the year anniversary of the hit and run I was in is already giving me more anxiety than I though was even possible, and more existential thoughts that I want to deal with. So on that note, I am making a conscious effort to recognize all of the positives in my life.

Recognizing the positives is a tactic I developed in the spring to assist my chronic negativity during a time that was supposed to be one of the best of my life. Because for some reason, writing things down makes them so much more real. We can always change our memories by labeling them with an emotion down the road, but when we write down a happy experience while it's still a relatively recent occurrence, we can't argue with ourselves in hindsight.

My best example of this comes from something I wrote exactly six months ago today. In my "happy" journal, I don't always write full sentences, in effort not to over think the funny or happy or serendipitous occasion. So on the page for March 5th, among other things, I have written "hitting Tyler in the face during the Coal Mine." That's it. One fragment of a sentence, and I have myself laughing at the thought.
I like to think that had I written this down somewhere else, in a different context, it would mean something completely different. But having written down a fragment of a memory in a sacred happy place makes it impossible to think that this occasion was less than hilarious. (And I can assure you, this was hilarious. My lack of coordination, mixed with a breakfast dance, mixed with one of my best friends was in-arguably funny to not only myself, but to him as well-- and likely all the kids that saw).

So, while I am still basically in the "Excited New College Student" Phase, I want to talk about why college is absolutely wonderful. Even if it is just community college.

You don't have to talk to people you don't want to. 

When you see someone from the same high school as you going down the hall, it's completely acceptable to ignore them completely. Which I can really sum up by saying...

 No one is pretending 

Everyone is just going to school, doing their own thing. No one acts like they're better than you, because we're all just getting an education from a school that basically requires a beating heart to attend.

Professors are pretty great

This one is probably true for most colleges, but my teachers aren't terribly concerned with us liking them, or their views. They have a degree in what they are teaching! Lets be honest, in some of my high school classes, I'm pretty sure I could have taught the content better than some of my teachers, but in college, you are paying someone that actually, undeniably has a degree in what they are teaching.

You can sleep there

I take naps on the grass outside between classes, so, that's a definite win.

You can be friends with anyone

There are no social groups formed, so you can literally talk to anyone you want. If you want to be friends with the people from your high school, cool. If you want to be friends with the grandma in your Drawing I class, cool. If you want to be friends with the random stranger at the lunch table next to you, cool.

FREEDOM

I show up at the school when I want, and leave when I want, and take the classes I want. I do what I want.

It's for me

The past year of my life was me doing the best I could to help others. And now, it's my turn to help myself. College is all about me! And not in a selfish way, because that's legitimately what college is all about. Bettering yourself so you can move forward. And that is exactly what I need at this point in my life.




So even though my list is only seven things, I think it's a pretty great list, and just rereading it makes me feel better about where I am in my life.
With my demons breathing down my neck, my best defense is to remind myself that, when you think about it, life is actually pretty great. I may need reminders like this daily that my life is in fact good, but this way, I never forget.