I was doing some required reading the other day (required reading meaning the newest Vanity Fair in which Jen finally talks about Brad), and there was an advertisement in the magazine about a writing contest. Contestants were asked to submit an entry postulating what was on the mind of America's youth these days as opposed to 30 years ago, during the controversial '60s and '70s.
It got me thinking. A) Because I wouldn't mind trying to win the $15,000 grand prize and B) because I don't even really know what's on my mind, let alone the mind of my generation. I sat and thought. And thought. And thought. But not for too long because I didn't want my brain to overheat. I boiled it down to this: I may be living in the Charlottesville bubble, I may not be as globally aware as other people, but I do have a general idea of what's on the mind of the average college student -- well, rather, stereotypical college student.
I can think of two things right off the top of my head that are always on college students' minds. You guess. Sex and alcohol. Whether you're abstinent or promiscuous, a party animal or strictly a Sprite drinker, it's on your mind. Why? Because we're surrounded by it all the time. You cannot escape the hookup culture we live in or the social scene of this university. (Yes, I am aware you can do things socially without drinking -- don't even try to start with me.) My backyard is Buddhist Biker Bar for crying out loud. My roommate's in the next room with her boyfriend under the guise of watching a movie.
That's just the tip of the iceberg, too. We're living in a high drama, fast-paced, always-on-the-go place. Yeah, you can hang out on the Lawn and relax, but admit it, you're probably in between classes sleeping because you only got four hours last night. We've got early morning classes, homework due at 2 p.m., ex-boyfriends and girlfriends with new significant others, roommates who can't clean up after themselves, grocery shopping at the incredibly overpriced stores, exercising, CIO meetings, humidity and I don't even know what else on our minds -- all before 10 a.m.
It's just all condensed in the barely five-mile radius that is U.Va. and the surrounding community. We're dealing with rogue hormones, the freshman 15 (or 20, if you're a champion like I was), trying to stay involved in what's going on around Grounds, hanging out with our friends and trying to live it up while we've got the opportunity. This is a lot to deal with. This is why you hear 25-year-olds say that they couldn't ever go back to college. (Not 22- or 23-year-olds because they still haven't moved on yet and are in shock from their new nine-to-five jobs.)
It's hard being in college. Easy compared to solving the AIDS epidemic, hard compared to high school and the lives we've lead prior to our start here at the University. This whole time is a period of immense change. My friends and I always joke about how one day in college time seems to be the equivalent of two weeks in real world time.
Frankly, what's on our minds is trivial in the scheme of the world. But I think we're troopers, just for being here, for having to deal with all of this at once. For getting ready for the real world. For taking our education a little bit further. I can't say what's on our minds. It's too complicated; it changes from moment to moment.
I can barely concentrate enough to write this column. I've got homework due for a class tomorrow that hasn't even started, I'm still missing some of my books for class, my roommates just found their Breathalyzer and want to start playing with it, Jeopardy's on (college tournament rerun), I keep staring out my window at the mountains, I'm still confused about what the hell is happening with Rove and Iraq and what happened a while ago with Enron and Martha and how to play the stock market, and shouldn't I know more because I'm 21 now and am I rambling?
And this is just me. At this one moment. I'm not even thinking about food right now because I just ate. I've got a simple mind -- I couldn't even begin to imagine what's on yours.
So when I begin to think about writing an essay for this contest, I think I'd need a little more than 1,500 words. I'd need a couple million. 1,500 might cover what's on mine. And now what's on your mind? I couldn't even begin to guess.
Lindsay can be reached at mccook@cavalierdaily.com.
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