Back when i was living in Boston, I dated a girl (let's call her Kristie) whose hotness was only exceeded by her craziness.  This brief affair didn't last too long before she decided to move back to LA, where she came from (oh yah she did).  But, as hot crazy girls have a place in everyone's life, we decided to  keep in touch and see how things went.  About a week in a got from Kristie what has remained to this day the most epic and unbelievable 3 minute voice-mail of all time.  It was shortly after this phone call that i added the "(DNC)" suffix to her name in my phone (The "Kristie DNC" stands for do not call--aka. no matter how drunk you may be, and how good an idea it might seem, DO NOT call this girl--editors note: One should not just replace the person's name with "do not call," because then you don't know which of your "DNCs" is calling--though that may be a good thing--i digress).

The voicemail itself began with how she could see that i obviously wasn't as committed to this "relationship" (3 weeks) as she was and that i was just "living the college lifestyle" (had a job and a nice place with 2 other guys).  She essentially spent about 2 and a half minutes trying to insinuate that i was a huge douche who was playing her, all based on absolutely no evidence (i was not, in fact, doing anything--she had left only 1 week prior--who has that kind of time).  The kicker was, that after this baseless onslaught she ended the message with, "ok, talk to yah later, miss you."  And it wasn't even that reflexive "miss you."  She paused, softened her voice, an lovingly told me she missed me. 

Full.  Blown.  Crazy.

I tell you this blast from my past because another friend of mine mentioned "the college lifestyle" to me today and it reminded me of that debacle (i should mention that you should NEVER EVER make a fool of yourself on someone's voicemail.  That's a recording device folks.  You can play that over and over and over again.  Everytime someone says, "she couldn't of been *that* crazy.  You just pull out your phone and show em.  It actually saved me a bunch of time in the end.  And for those of you saying that it's not nice that I shared it with people, I say A) it's not nice that she shared it with me and B) i don't blog cause i'm perfect.)

I believe the college lifestyle to represent being free from larger responsibility.  College is like life with training wheels, where the decisions you make exist only inside this larger bubble, shielding you from shit like taxes and the debt most people are simultaneously accruing.  And don't get me wrong, college is great.  Super fucking great.  I have my 10 year reunion in a few weeks and i'm super pumped.  I would go directly back to my college days in a heartbeat.  Fo Sho!

But here is my thing.  I'm 31, and while I am still, technically, in college, "the college lifestyle" no longer holds meaning in my life.  What I mean is that while the privilege of a meager stipend and intellectual freedom can be wonderful, when those real life responsibilities--or real life decisions (family? kids? buy a house? etc???--oh shit--i may have just created a panic attack, no, ok, i'm fine)-- are thrust into my reality, school can feel more like sandbags weighing me down, preventing me from reaching my goal (figuring out my goals?).  I've heard a bunch of stuff about "earning potential" and "likely income," and without sounding like an asshole, im ready for  some of my potential to potentiate.  Not the big bucks mind you, but any amount that makes "saving" a possibility. 

Oh, if only Kristie could see me now.