Posted: 05/02/07

Real World, Colchester

According to my calendar, today is May 2. Also according to my calendar, I graduate on May 17. I have to cite this because otherwise I’d tell you it was incorrect.

Math tells me that May 17 is 15 days away.

Math also says 15 days is 360 hours.

In other words, a lifetime.

This past weekend was P-Day, which originally stood for Preparation Day, as in “prepare for finals by drinking and playing like a child.” To me and many seniors, I think it meant “prepare for graduation by drinking and playing like a child and visiting friends.” I tried my hardest to do so.

I’ve been taking a class in Buddhism this semester, where we learned, among many other things, how some schools of Buddhism distinguish between “sudden” and “gradual” enlightenment. While I make no claims to wisdom, I think I’ve been gradually realizing that my time on this campus is limited. Enlightenment? Probably not. Definitely not, actually, because with enlightenment comes peace. Then again, Siddhartha Gautama didn’t have to face a dwindling job market and a low value-added college degree (I’m a political science major).

Siddhartha was a pretty rich dude, and could have gone home to his king father at any time. He didn’t, and chose instead to live the life of a wandering teacher whose talks spawned the philosophy/religion/way of life we call Buddhism. I could choose that too, but I hear it doesn’t provide healthcare benefits, at least not with a dental plan.

But maybe Siddhartha was on to something; maybe it's not about the dental plan.

Seniors are facing some undefined realm many people refer to as the capital R capital W Real World. According to my Grandfather, the Real World involves taxes and people taking advantage of you and it turns everyone Republican. So maybe P-Day means “prepare for never having this much fun again,” though by his measure, my parents are not quite in the Real World yet, either. I’m glad they’re not, because their version of the Real World isn’t too concerned with my low value-added degree or general lack of certainty of what I want to do next. In their Real World there’s a place for someone who likes to talk about music and is more concerned with the release date of the next Wilco album (May 15) then when tax returns are due (April 15). In their Real World, Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey were on to something, and Kurt Vonnegut is worth remembering. Authority can be questioned, and protest is noble. There’s a place for someone with wisdom and a place for the path to wisdom, with or without a dental plan, with or without societal approval.

There’s a lot more laughter.

On May 18, that’s where you’ll find me.