“You have four years to be irresponsible
here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You’ll never remember class time,
but you’ll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out
late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due
Wednesday. Spend money you don’t have. Drink ‘til sunrise. The work never ends,
but college does…” –Tom Petty
I read this quote for the first time on Pinterest. It had
been repinned by a handful of people I follow, and I can only assume it’s
because they thought Mr. Petty had some great advice. I, however, couldn’t help
but shake my head in complete disagreement.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand why this quote is
appealing. I’m growing up in a generation that lives by mottos such as No
Regrets and YOLO (you only live once). The idea is that life is something to be
enjoyed, and if you’re not happy then you’re wasting your time. I’m not saying
there’s anything inherently wrong about the pursuit of happiness. I am saying
that when happiness, comfort, and entertainment become our goals in life, we’re
setting ourselves up for disappointment and possibly even failure.
Now I’m working on the assumption that college is meant to
prepare you for the future. It’s a time in which you learn the theories and
practice the skills you will need to be successful in your chosen career. It’s
a time in which you begin to make adult decisions and start to live
independently. If you choose to follow Tom Petty’s advice and be “irresponsible”
for your four or more years of college, you are setting yourself up to be
irresponsible in your career and your decisions post-graduation. If you stay
out late, you sleep through class. If you go out on Tuesday when you have a
paper due Wednesday, you get a poor grade on the paper. If you spend money you
don’t have, you get into debt (on top of the debt you’ll already have from
student loans). If you drink until sunrise, you go to class with a hangover (if
you decide to go to class at all). When these things are done consistently
through your time in college, they become habitual. The things you practice
become part of your life.
Furthermore, I would argue that work isn’t just for people
with jobs. It’s for people who want jobs too. Petty says you’ll never remember
class time? If you’re staying out late and drinking until sunrise of course you’re
not going to remember class. I really hope the people who follow this advice
aren’t having their parents pay for their education. If you want to spend
money, drink recklessly, and neglect your school work, you better be paying for
your own education because I’d hate to see you waste someone else’s money.
Fortunately, not all of my generation thinks this way. There
are still plenty of us who believe that hard work pays off and that education
is something to be taken seriously. I go to school with a lot of young adults
who have a great work ethic and a determination to prepare for their future.
These students have social lives and know how to have fun. They believe that
life is enjoyable, but they understand that there is a time for work and a time
for play. It is those people who give me hope that my generation doesn’t have
to give in to instant gratification and that we can still be a generation of positive
world-changers. Tom Petty is right; the work never ends, but college does. So I’m
going to make sure I use those four years in the best way possible.
If you want to read another response to Tom Petty’s quote, visit http://www.collegehumor.com/article/1209793/an-open-letter-to-tom-petty-from-a-guy-who-took-his-college-quote-way-too-literally
