The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 16, 2002, Page A12, Image 12
With age comes the infinite wonder of becoming something
SfiANNA REED
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
When I was just a little girl, I
asked my mother, “What shall I
be? Will I be pretty? Will I be
rich?”
This is what she said to me:
“Que sera, sera. Whatever will be,
will be!" I said to her, “What the
hell kind of answer is that?”
It”s the first really important
question anyone asks you. With
feigned sincerity, the teacher or
guidance counselor — or even
your mother’s boss — bends down
to your level and asks, “Well little
Johrthy (or Sara, whichever the
case may be), what do you want to
be when you grow up?”
When you were seven, the ques
tion was easy. You probably said
something like, “I want to be a bal
lerina!” or “I want to be an astro
naut!” And, when you were sev
en, that was sufficient. No one was
going to tell you that you couldn’t
be anything that you wanted to be.
As you got older, things began
to change. As early as third grade,
placement tests became the norm.
Reading groups were assigned. All
the little boys and girls started to
notice some kids were just a little
more special than others. By the
time we finally hit high school, the
old adage about being whatever
you wanted was thrown out the
door.
I turned 21 on the Aug. 6.21 —
meaning legal. 21 — meaning able
to be thrown into the deep end of
' the ocean and come up swimming.
21 — meaning I don’t have any
earthly idea how I’m supposed to
do anything. It’s supposed to be
the greatest birthday of your life,
going right along with your 16th
and your 50th. 21 is the first time
you realize that you’re supposed
“be” someone soon. You’re sup
posed to “be” somewhere soon.
Something besides student,
daughter, son or grandchild.
Somewhere besides dorm, child
hood bedroom or grandmother’s
basement.
Now you are categorized as
“adult.” However, adulthood does
not come with age, but with action
and experience. You start to ana
lyze both what you know and
what you don’t have a clue about.
If you know anything, you’re
aware of how much you still have
to learn.
Do you swim when thrown into
the ocean of accumulating bills?
Are you capable of caring for
yourself? Are you capable of car
ing for someone else? Do you
make love, war or babies on pur
pose? Are you a fire-breathing rev
olutionary bent on some unknown
cause and making the world a bet
ter place in Birkenstocks and your
oh-so-bohemian ’fro? Are you
keeping capitalism alive in con
servative blue, black and gray?
Have you changed diapers and
mused on the finality of your par
ents’ existence? Have you con
cluded whether you believe the
glass is half-empty or half-full? Did
you tip it over? Or, better yet, did
you dip elementary cookies in it
and have a drink? Have you fig
ured “it” out yet — whatever “it”
is?
I don’t ignore the bum on the
corner anymore. I know better
than to give him money, so I give
him food instead. And, rather
than accept his condition as all
encompassing and finite, I won
der. I wonder how he got this way.
Is this man a victim of his weak
ness of mind or of a series of un
controllable situations?
How do I avoid his bitter end?
How do I avoid ending my life in
darkness or, rather, ih shades of
gray and beige? How do I avoid liv
ing life to retire, instead of living
for the fulfillment of everyday? Is
the road to happiness and success
the road less traveled, or are they
two different roads altogether?
Maybe you thought the answer
would be at the end of this article,
but it’s not. The answer is only re
vealed at the end of your life. Have
a wild ride.
Reed is a fourth-year electronic
journalism student.
We may not all believe exactly
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Make the most of the time you have here
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CHRIS FOY
GAMECOCKVIEWPOINTS@HOTMAIL.COM
So you’re finally here, the
summers.over, and it’s time
to start another semester
here at the University of
South Carolina.
You’ve already shown that
you’re keened on expanding
your intellectual capacity be
cause you are, in fact, read
ing The Gamecock. More so,
by reading this paper, you re
alize that the State’s welcome
back paper is nothing more
than a bunch of geezers
telling you how you want to
live your university life,
while trying to con you into
a subscription. Stick with
this paper. It covers all the
events on campus that you’re
interested in. Guaranteed.
Hey, it’s also free.
But as this is likely the
first college paper many of
you read, I’m going to just
pass along some of the little
things I’ve picked up since
I’ve been here.
Class of 2006, you have
four years to live out your
college experience. Maybe.
Some of you will be here
longer. And some of you may
be gone by the end of the
semester, which is not always
for grade purposes. The point
is that you don’t know how
long you’ve got here, so you
might as well make the most
of it every way you can.
Don’t let things come to
you. Go out and get involved.
There are plenty of things for
you to do on this campus; you
just have to go out and find
what you want to be a part of.
Join a religious group or a
service club. Go out and join
an athletics club or even the
Skydiving club. There’s some
thing for everyone here. And
the beauty is, in an institu
tion of this size there will be
people that share your inter
ests. Find them now, and
you’ll have your friend base
for college and on.
Most likely, though, you
will have around four years
here. Take the time to do ev
erything you want to do. If
you want to try out writing
for the paper, what’s stopping
you? If you want to see how
you like Student government,
what’s stopping you?
When your time here is up,
you’re never going to have an
opportunity like this again.
Even if you come back to
graduate school, things just
won’t be the same. This is the
last time in your life you can
get away with living with as
much reckless abandon as
you want. Make the most of
it. .
If you get up late, no one
said you had to shower before
you go to class. Or shave for
that matter. In a couple of
years, you’re likely going to
have to be at work Monday
through Friday, all trimmed
up. Take the more relaxed ap
proach while you still can.
You should also take the
time to check out as many
sporting events here as you
can. I’m sure all of you will
find your way to the football
games, but this school has a
lot of good programs you may
not hear about as much.
Besides that, you get free
tickets.
But while you’re trying
these new things, still set
your priorities. It’s too easy
to over commit to a large
number of groups here.
Keeping up with class pro
jects, a relationship, your
friends, and your organiza
tions will take up a lot of
your time. Figure out what’s
really important to you, and
go from there. But don’t get
so involved that you don’t
have the time to hang out
with your friends, because
never again will you be living
with so many of them.
Besides that, you can always
catch up on your sleep when
you’re older.
But, of course, your
main priority should be mak
ing sure your GPA is up to
par. After all, that’s all it
takes to either come back
next semester or make a new
beginning once again.
Foy is a fourth-year entrepreneur
management student.
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