Off the Map

Brits in the Bedroom and other Mysteries

"Are you going to college?", "Where are you going to study?", "Do you have a summer job?" These questions quickly become the bane of a high school senior. Nothing was worse than running into a group of your parents friends, only to be bombarded by questions you'd answered a million times the week prior.

After I made it to University, I figured the worst was over. But they do say that ignorance is bliss... yes, the questions are back! Envision a 40's B&W horror flick "Attack of the Killer Questions!", dramatic, two-pence orchestra score blaring in the back as college students burst out of your classic ivy-covered school, screaming like they've seen a ghost.

Not much has changed: "Do you have a job?", "What are you doing this summer?", "Are you going to Grad School?", "What do you want to do with your life?". If our government is going to restrict things like agricultural imports from third world countries suffering in abject poverty, why can't they put quotas on the number of times these route questions can be thrown in the face of a wide-eyed college grad?

Perhaps I am in no position to complain. Many of my peers are quick to point out "Jason, you've already got a job!" (with a large consulting firm). True my friends, true indeed. Though I may have something solid to start with, this still doesn't mean that my future is any less ominous.

Personal quips aside, the world asks far too many questions of students they've babied up to the tender age of 22. Don't treat us like children for so long, only to expect us to burst out of the cocoon the moment we toss that tasseled, square hat in the air at an overhyped graduation. Just like a drinking age of 21 - there is no magic turning point of maturity. College is a time of growth, yet Universities, "helicopter parents" (with many notable exceptions), employers, the government, and a few others make it their business to interfere with our business till the bitter end. If you, the listed offenders, want us to show maturity when we enter the so-called "Real World", give us a chance to develop it on our own.

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce an example from history. During Britain's rule of India the backbone of imperial power was the Ruling Caste - 1,000 or so British civil service officers who had shipped themselves off to a land as foreign to their green island as free speech is to China. These gents then trotted off to all the farthest reaches of that astounding subcontinent to collect taxes, prevent riots, and generally keep things running proper. One would imagine men in their 30's or 40's, members of the political strata, or perhaps military veterans. These men were, however, lads. The bulk of whom were in their early 20's. Imagine sending a graduate from today's sophisticated universities to run a pre-World War 1 Indian province almost single handedly. I can't either.

posted by Jason @ 7:26 am