Most of my peers have continued their education at a four year university to earn a Bachelors degree or started at a Community College to figure out what on earth they want to do to GET their bachelors degree. Most people I talk to, either like their college or end up not loving it and transferring elsewhere.
Sounds of guitar strumming, some random singing, drum kits, classic rock pandora radio, staged fights, random outbursts of "I wish he would do me harder"s, and hanging out in classes we don't belong in. This is an average day at my community college in the Advanced Technology Center. All these activities are engaged in a learning environment. Oh yea, and running across the campus till my pulse is waaaayyy over normal to get to my science class is also normal.
I was skyping with one of my friends the other day who is studying at a Penn State Annex. We talked about school and such, and I mentioned that I loved my community college in Nanticoke, PA. She was shocked to hear that someone could love and have pride in a "Community College". That bugged me.
Anyone can be at college to binge drink, party, smoke, and get the "college experience". And also flunk out.
In my college, there are two types of people. Those who are creatively naive, and those who are conventional.
The Creatively Naive are what we like to call ATC-ers.
The Others are Over-the-bridgers. I'll explain this is in a second.
We have a bridge at our college. Where most of the college is, aka across the bridge, they teach you math, science, and how to take a whole lot of tests.
Once you cross that bridge, you have entered the world of the creatively naive. The world of the ATC. There are no MLA format papers here.
They teach you things way more valuable than how to take a test, or write an APA format psychology paper. I've compiled a list of things one learns in the ATC aka: The part of the campus where we all wear black and smoke pot. Weird things happen here. We do however, have virtual campfires with marshmallows and ghost stories. Here's the list.
1. You should not do anything for free, you shall be rewarded with quarters.
2. Your classmates are a million times better teachers than your instructor. They come from all different walks of life, therefore offer a brand new perspective.
3. You can agree to disagree. You are never wrong in the ATC.
4. Your instructors are more than instructors. They are more like life mentors.
5. You can leave anything in the land of happy macs, it will stay there until the end of eternity. Except for food. Guard your food with your life.
6. We have couches. We can have Domino's Pizza delivered to said couches.
7. You will never go hungry again.
8. You can burst out in "The Internet is for Porn" and have five people join in.
9. You will love Ed Ackerman.
10. You judge people based on their character, not their looks.
11. You will discover that you will never figure yourself out, but why take what you do find out as useless information?
12. Halloween is the Christmas of the ATC.
13. Learn to challenge your instructors: they aren't always right.
14. Learn to take risks. "Nothing risque, nothing gained."
15. We are all celebrities in the ATC. It's not just school, we will come back years later and call it home.
16. You will always have a shoulder to cry on. Even if someone you never met is that shoulder.
17. People do things just to be nice. They share umbrellas when it's raining and you don't have one.
18. The "Breakfast of Champions" is composed of Twizzlers, Dr. Pepper, Peanut Butter Crackers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and other random candy bars that Ed has in his office. You are welcome to it every day.
19. You will have your mind read by someone else.
20. There are no accidents.
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