I Seriously Doubt College is the Best time of Your Life
I occasionally hear middle-aged people wax nostalgic about how great college was. Often, they say it was the best time of their life. This has always seemed odd to me. I'm sure many people are happiest in university, but I have a hard time believing it's a general trend.
College is certainly better than primary or secondary school. Those are bizarre artificial environments which seem engineered to maximize misery. In college, you get real freedom for the first time in your life. You're ideally studying something which interests you. You're around lots of people who could become your friends.
But also: you're probably broke. The university system is built to be your full-time job. At least where I live, if you don't have generous and well-off parents, you will have to work a real full-time job. But it's unlikely to pay well. You're in college so you can get a job that pays well. It's true, you're around lots of people who might potentially be your friends. But, speaking personally, most of my relationships feel very ephemeral. I've make a couple friendships which I think will last a lifetime. But only a couple. With most of my friends, I'm very aware that I'll only know them for a season. After we graduate, we'll probably never see each other again.
I want my relationships to be more stable than this. My parents have been together for decades. They've lived in the same town for decades, they've had the same friends for decades. My brother has been with his wife for years, he's had the same friends for years. He has kids, and they'll love him 'til the day he dies. I don't have any of that, and I want to.
I'm certainly happier now than I was as a child or teenager. Vastly, really. If I'm being honest, this is the first time I've ever been happy. But, God willing, I'll be happier when I have a house and a spouse and a real career.