Markman's Musings: Progress is not a dirty word
Joe Markman
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Editorial/Opinion
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09/06/07 - Progress, say the latest political strategists, is once again a fine word to use in campaigns, whether you're talking about social services or the surge strategy in Iraq.
Now a senior in college, I'd like to label myself a progressive. I'm not talking about voter referenda, a third political party, or even Hillary Clinton's stance on civil unions. No, I'm talking about moving on.
At some point in our lives we must all move on. Whether it's from a past lover, a band we thought was wicked cool in eighth grade, an addiction, or a way of life, everyone has to decide at some point to move on from past decisions and progress forward.
As college students we are constantly moving forward. We move toward the next semester, the next keg party, the next hook-up, the stage in May that many of us will walk across. I've been looking forward to that stage since I was in high school. I've always wanted to be one or 10 steps beyond where I am, and now, with months left until graduation, I take time to reflect on what I've learned, on what I've ignored in my education, and on what the future may bring.
I learned early on that college is not about conquests. It's not about how many seconds you can be suspended upside-down over a keg or how many girls you can "date." It's not even about grade point averages or how many 400 level you can pass. College is about progression. It's about starting at one point and ending up at some place else - some place where you feel more comfortable, more intelligent and more able to deal with the inadequacies of a hard world.
College is not about job applications and applying for graduate school. I learned that through living, not through a college introduction course or through an application of statistics.
Everyone's college experience is unique, and I don't profess to hold a barometer of progression for every student that crosses that stage in May, but if you think too much about receiving this or that grade, or going to this or that party, then you will have lost something vital.
Now a senior in college, I'd like to label myself a progressive. I'm not talking about voter referenda, a third political party, or even Hillary Clinton's stance on civil unions. No, I'm talking about moving on.
At some point in our lives we must all move on. Whether it's from a past lover, a band we thought was wicked cool in eighth grade, an addiction, or a way of life, everyone has to decide at some point to move on from past decisions and progress forward.
As college students we are constantly moving forward. We move toward the next semester, the next keg party, the next hook-up, the stage in May that many of us will walk across. I've been looking forward to that stage since I was in high school. I've always wanted to be one or 10 steps beyond where I am, and now, with months left until graduation, I take time to reflect on what I've learned, on what I've ignored in my education, and on what the future may bring.
I learned early on that college is not about conquests. It's not about how many seconds you can be suspended upside-down over a keg or how many girls you can "date." It's not even about grade point averages or how many 400 level you can pass. College is about progression. It's about starting at one point and ending up at some place else - some place where you feel more comfortable, more intelligent and more able to deal with the inadequacies of a hard world.
College is not about job applications and applying for graduate school. I learned that through living, not through a college introduction course or through an application of statistics.
Everyone's college experience is unique, and I don't profess to hold a barometer of progression for every student that crosses that stage in May, but if you think too much about receiving this or that grade, or going to this or that party, then you will have lost something vital.
