The College Years: How Old Are We Anyways?


Cindy Luo | Daily Trojan

Cindy Luo | Daily Trojan

My friend and I trekked all the way Downtown to Whole Foods to go grocery shopping Saturday. As we aimlessly wandered from the grains aisle to the condiments aisle, contemplating how to save the most money on gourmet jams, I realized we had absolutely no idea what we were doing.

“Do you think I should get yogurts? What about cheese? Brie or Feta? Oh, pizza bagels!” my friend ran off, distracted, toward the freezers.

“Grocery shopping is so hard!” I replied. “I always buy the unnecessary things that I never even use, like powdered donuts and pickles, but end up forgetting the things I truly need like paper towels and cereal.”

It dawned upon me that this grocery shopping extravaganza serves as a metaphor for so many college students.

From 18 to around 22 years old we are trapped in this little bubble, straddling the worlds between kid and adult.

We are no longer children, always seeming to be about a decade older than all of the patients when we awkwardly still see our pediatricians; but we are most definitely not adults, not able to buy a house or a glass of wine with dinner or even choose the right groceries.

Everyone reminisces so fondly on the college years, but what is this little four-year bubble intended for? How can we grow up when we are trapped between high school prom and the law firm dinner?

We aren’t taken seriously, yet we are expected to do things all on our own.

So many times I have wanted to call my parents, asking for the best home remedy to get a wine stain out of a nice dress or how to get health insurance to waive a bill, but I clench my fists and put my phone back in my pocket, promising myself that I will figure it out on my own.

On the brink of adulthood we are plagued with that odd mix of far too much pride to ask for help, and not enough wisdom to actually know what we are doing.

In reality, it’s so strange that in America at 18 we are suddenly adults, stripped of any lingering pre-pubescent marks and thrown out of the comfort of our homes into a world that is new, strange and entirely ours for the taking.

It is terrifying and exhilarating and wonderful all at the same time.

I was lucky enough to have a childhood where I did not have to grow up too fast. Sometimes, I do miss the comfort of carefully wrapped, diagonally cut peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and knowing my mom would be waiting in the carpool line at 3:15 p.m. on the dot.

But while it can be scary, lonely and strange to be on the brink of adulthood, it should be exhilarating as well.

Maybe the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and clean laundry done by our parents are no longer always waiting for us on the counter, but what is far more exciting is what is waiting for us in the years to come.

So many of us view college as this four-year time warp where everything is suspended and you can do whatever you want without your parents’ nagging or the responsibilities of adulthood.

I like the idea that time can freeze in this sense; unfortunately, that seems a tad unrealistic, but I think maybe it can slow down, and we can use that to our advantage.

Once my friend and I realized we had absolutely no clue what to buy, we sat down and really contemplated which groceries were necessary and which would sit in the back of our pantry for the next five months.

We proceeded to carefully pick out only the necessities, all for under $50 at that.

So maybe as a college student we aren’t always taken seriously. Maybe, no matter how nicely we dress up, we’re not going to look old enough to buy that margarita with dinner. Maybe we buy pickles and donuts and our dirty laundry sits in our rooms for far too long.

Maybe we are still kids at heart and maybe it takes us a while how to figure out how to navigate a swarming adult world full of taxes, insurance plans and loans.

Maybe we are stuck in this bubble where we are slowly figuring it out, but maybe this is exactly where we are supposed to be. Maybe, just maybe, when we are finally released into the world of briefcases and studio apartments, we will be ready.