My father was all about good grades in High School, but I'll never forget what he said when he dropped me off at ISU. "Education is important, but much more important in life is the education you get outside of the classroom. From social life, to community, to sports, those are just examples of better life lessons than what a book offers. So, make sure you have fun." That said, it was those exact lessons outside the classroom I would not have gotten any other way.
If you could go back...
- Thread starter ClonesFTW
- Start date
I have mine sitting in a box with the thought of having them turned into one of those t-shirt quilts.
I would definitely go back - loved my experience at Iowa State. I think I chose the "safe" route going into Finance. I enjoy what I do but sometimes wonder what it'd be like to work a more physical job, like turf grass management or something.
My one regret is not participating in a study abroad program.
Basically that is just a 4 month drinking escapade. Oh, ****, that does sound like fun.
I would absolutely go back. Working in the SID office, I was able to do many things and meet people other students weren't able to do. Give me that again.
I love life now, but if I could take a time travel vacation like once a year to college, it would be incredible.
I don't "need" college to do what I spend most of my time doing now, but I would tailor my education to line up more with my current career than the direction I thought I was going at the time. It would definitely be beneficial, and I got out of ISU without much debt. I would not relive or redo grad school (law school).
I grew up in a small town with a not-so-small-town outlook, and that can be kind of alienating when you're a kid. The college experience was massive for my personal growth. I'm still close with at least 10 guys I went to college with. I live in a small town again (not nearly as small as where I grew up), but that perspective and experience was absolutely worth it to me, and almost the entire experience was a complete blast.
I don't "need" college to do what I spend most of my time doing now, but I would tailor my education to line up more with my current career than the direction I thought I was going at the time. It would definitely be beneficial, and I got out of ISU without much debt. I would not relive or redo grad school (law school).
I grew up in a small town with a not-so-small-town outlook, and that can be kind of alienating when you're a kid. The college experience was massive for my personal growth. I'm still close with at least 10 guys I went to college with. I live in a small town again (not nearly as small as where I grew up), but that perspective and experience was absolutely worth it to me, and almost the entire experience was a complete blast.
I experienced something similar.
My first two years I felt like a number and wasn't even sure if I was being listened to.
Switched majors entirely and some of that was because I didn't feel like I was really given a clear outline of what the final outcome would be.
The difference with the new major advisor was monumental and major-specific courses felt like a breeze for the most part.
I honestly hated school, didn't try, didn't see the point of it, and basically just played basketball at the rec every day. Degree I got was basically worthless and I eventually went back and got a second degree in a field that I now work in post ISU. I will encourage my kids to go because it does open up opportunities for you, but if I wasn't a total idiot just riding the wave of what everybody else was doing I should have just become an electrician or plumber or something.
My son has the same major I finished with. During orientation we were at the hotel and he was told to pick a few classes to schedule. I looked at requirements and classes and suggested that this class would be better. He mentioned that this other one was suggested. I pointed out that the class I suggested fit his needs in 2 ways. It was more suited to his needs and was a 3 credit class instead of 2 so he would only need one more class to fill the 6 credit requirement.
The next day at scheduling he was told by the advisor not to take that and to take the 2credit class. Well, turned out he hated it and now he has to take an extra class to fill the one credit that he is short on the requirement since it was 2 and not 3. It did get him to listen to me for advice more so that was good. Being the same major was very helpful in that situation.
I actually owned three at one time.
I earned one for sand volleyball. I wore the hell out of that sucker, but I, uh, outgrew that one since I was 6'2" and maybe 165 at the time. It's now part of an Iowa State t-shirt quilt that my wife and I had made.
I earned another for broomball. At the time, I was dating a bat-**** crazy chick. She would wear it and ended up keeping it when we broke up. I miss that shirt, but hindsight, that was a pretty good trade for me.
I got a third for being on the intramural board. I barely wore that one since it wasn't earned. It was also ugly as sin. I donated that one a long time ago.
Two things: 1. You’re a dude and you quilt??? 2. I wonder how many batshit crazy chicks have acquired intramural shirts that way. I believe I lost one I got for pickleball in a similar fashion. Was pissed at the time but ended up earning one for flag fb so it help heal the wound.
Its great reading about everyone's experiences. Sounds like most cherished the college experience whether it directly lead to their career choices or not later in life AND would likely do it again.
College is what you make of it, Just don't let it drown you in debt most of your adult life, because once you start earning a wage, there are tons of more experiences to enjoy also.
I have to add, both my daughters also attended ISU and married people they met there. One met her husband during orientation.
College is what you make of it, Just don't let it drown you in debt most of your adult life, because once you start earning a wage, there are tons of more experiences to enjoy also.
I have to add, both my daughters also attended ISU and married people they met there. One met her husband during orientation.
Needed my degree to get my first job but could have done any of my jobs without ever having stepped foot on campus. I would go back in a freakin' heartbeat--so much more to college than the formal education.
This is actually something I did my first semester on campus. Luckily, they were two orientation classes that I was enrolled in, 112 and 113 (2 and 1 credit courses, but wasn’t really sure how everything at Iowa State worked yet, so I didn’t realize those weren’t different classes on my blackboard, so I was doing all the work for 112 but never clicked on 113. Luckily, my adviser was the instructor for the 113 class and emailed me a week before dead week and asked if I was ever going to do any work for that class. I ended up being able to do enough work that wasn’t past it’s due date to avoid getting an F on my transcript in an orientation course.
I ultimately switched my major, but then decided that I wanted to pick up my old major again as a double, and in my meeting with my adviser, she laughed and told me I’d “have to take that orientation course again that I struggled with so poorly.” The class was all about making resumes and cover letters, so it was pretty easy work doing that as a classified senior.
I didn't take college very serious but I don't regret it, had lots of fun and came out with a degree that I used to get me a job and career in a semi-related field that I enjoy. I lived the bachelor life until my early 30's so in a lot of ways, I lived the college lifestyle but had a grown up job for a decade or so after school. I loved school but I don't think the lifestyle change is worth going to class.
LOL, no I do not quilt. My wife and I had the quilt made for us. I worded that poorly.
As we were cutting out the ISU shirts up into squares to send off for the quilt, we had to do some creative editing to censor some of the dorm floor house shirts that we collectively had.
I think this happens quite a bit. Besides myself and my wife, 4 of my siblings also met their spouses in college; Four of us at ISU, the other at UNI.
Ive thought about doing that quilt thing as well but I’ll be honest, even well over a decade removed from ISU, I cringed even reading your phrase cutting up the ISU shirts. I need to part ways with them but god damn it there are memories in those things!
I would do college all over again without hesitation. Knowing what I know in hindsight would probably change a few things up that I did or did not do while in college too but overall even if you don't wind up doing what you got a degree in college as a profession (I still do the type of work my degree is in) just the whole experience of college is worth it IMO. You learn a lot of life skills and it's really kind of a "sand box" for you to play in as your first steps into adult life where if you make some mistakes they maybe aren't as negative of consequences making those mistakes under the safety net of being in college vs in real life in the work force and completely on your own at that point.
