Get Dirty in College

If you're an incoming freshman this fall, probably most of what you know of college life stems from movies, television, and those back to school advertisements with the kids falling out of packed cars carrying a crate of cd's despite the fact that bringing cd's to college is next to obsolete. It's ok to buy cd's while you're in college, but chances are the cd's you already have are also on your ipod or your computer. So if you find yourself packing the latest Fall Out Boy cd into your crate because you want everyone who comes into your dorm who might possibly look at you cd's to think that you are cool because you own this cd, know that at best it will turn into a beer coaster that collects dust. Unless you plan on carrying around a portable cd player on campus to class, which may send the opposite message. The only way to pull off the step behind technology thing and still be allowed to have sex in college is to be consciously a step behind because you are, to continue the example, a cd junkie who collects them because they are the last artifact of the modern music industry or you are just simply fighting the latest fads. If you decide to be this person who fights fads, be aware that fighting fads is a fad already. You must have purpose in your disregard for trends. This is why I say you have to be dirty for a purpose in college, because being dirty and unkempt has been a fad since being clean was invented. So to further the example, if you want to establish an identity which is what college is all about, stick to your own guns. If you really really like cd's, and have no interest in ipods, then go for it. If you want to comb your hair, but also wear ripped up shoes, by all means do it. Just don't be the person who cuts holes in your jeans or doesn't shower because it makes your hair look cool. The best thing I can tell you, which should be read as a metaphor for your upcoming college life and your life in general is to let the holes in your jeans form on their own and come to class unshowered and unkempt because you just dominated the night, studying or partying, and simply did not have the time or the energy to shower. After all, that is how it all started.

You must understand that this does not have the immediete effect that buying the right clothes and listening to the right music on the right equipment has on your social life, but it is something that will last. It develops a base on which you will be able to stand on for life, because the most consistent trend that leads to success that can never be considered a fad is being an individual. You establish what you like, and others will follow. They will follow either because they also truly like what you like, or they respect why you like what you like. That is the most important thing to remember, if you are confident in what your own interests are, even people who who don't share the same interest will respect your pure interest or your passion. These are the people that will become the select few that you see 20 years later. These people will be your best friends. By the time you are a junior in college you will realize that only 1 or 2 of your freinds from high school are still your friends, and those will also be part of the group you will call your best friends. Simply put, don't fight against something you enjoy doing, because you never know when what you enjoy will also be enjoyed by another person or a large group of people. As soon as you're doing what you truly like, with people that you truly like, then you have had a successful college experience.