Thursday, March 28, 2024

Columnists world not the real one

Even though I read “the paper” every day, I never have responded to anything I have read in it. Congratulations to you, Ryan Weltzer. In your article “College is the ‘Real World’ for those who attend,” (SN 6/11) you have managed to totally take the phrase “real world” out of context.

What people mean when they say that is when you are on campus, you are required to do one thing: Get good grades. You don’t need to have a job or worry about putting food on the plate of anyone else but yourself. When they say the phrase “real world” they are not talking about the fact that you exist - nobody doubts that you do. What they mean is it is much harder if you live a life with a great deal of responsibility.

In school you have very few carved-in-stone responsibilities that absolutely have to be done. When you graduate and leave the confines of MSU, all of that changes. The flexibility of your schedule changes, for one. You can’t just pile in a car and go on a road trip. Also, if you decide to have children, that alters your life dramatically as well. You have to understand that your college issues, as well as my own at this point, are insignificant compared to what awaits you when you leave school.

I’m willing to bet you have never worked a 16-hour day, much less two weeks of them or more. I can tell you, those of us who come from manual labor-intensive backgrounds are laughing at you. When I came to college, it was like a vacation. Sleep if I want to, study, not study, whatever the case may be. You have to take a look at the bigger picture when you are describing something such as this.

College is only five or so years out of your life. Nobody is saying your life isn’t real, all they are saying is right now, it’s easier. Oh, and one more thing, try not to drag politics into your writing. I’ve known people from both sides of the fence who have had to work very hard for what they have.

James Fortner
telecommunication senior

Discussion

Share and discuss “Columnists world not the real one” on social media.