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Show Goin' home blues By Jim Nelson Going to college for most students is different than going to high school. At least in the respect that they still live at home and the surroundings stay much the same. Of course new friends and acquaintances are acquired, but the in-state students have little else to experience in the way of home life adjustment. Changes are gradual and jo unnoticed. For the students who are either out of state or from another country and i possibly even in-state students who musttravel large distances to attend an institution of higher learning, the story is different. Leaving home to attend college involves things that make a person look at their family in a much different manner upon returning home. To some, home from college means the much missed cooking mom so hartily handles. The ever present offering by a proud parent may initiate a conversation about college life: "Well mom it's like this. Actually the dorm food isn't that bad but I usually am hungry when I go down to the mess hall. So it doesn't matter anyway. Of course I miss your delicious cooking you know that!" Habits and mannerisms picked up while away to college may shock, amaze and bring a realization parents' 'Wing about their children. A wife V remark this way to her husband: 'Why George not once did she clean wm, make her own breakfast, and do thedishes. Look at her now. George ls our baby daughter really growing i ' ' may be a slight surprise for a er to witness the young man he so raised enter the house with long cks flowing around the shoulders. Ihe Politics for a student always i somewhat altered as he is away om the confines of home where '-political and the like are eady settled. H.lI )0hnnv vou know we've voted gjcan for 25 years," says a ww'ldered parent. noticeable for a student may hnm , apparant changes in the 2fw he once roamed and was oarad "!i 'S Seldom that he finds a him Th main street waiting for has'lon! nCe fri6ndlv San8 or group dividS, S'nCu SPlit T ViSit in" ouai members js most jnteresting " uvs t0 take away a lot of 40utT 83ls- Where to? Well how ltawife and kids, bills, college, car payments, a steady job. All this means times have changed. People are away in a new life that is nothing at all like it was a year or so ago. So you may visit your high school. It certainly is nice to look at the old place and reminisce, but somewhat depressing to find most of the teachers you were taught by gone away. There may be one old codger who wil always remain on at a high school. Talking to. him can be interesting. It might be he has no time for graduated students he once taught. After all, the changes you've gone through make a different impression entirely than the one you gave to acquire that A. On the other hand teachers may be very enthusiastic to hear how you are doing and offer further encouragement to you. It may be pleasant to try and show them what college has done for you. Have you ever hearc la high school student lay it on you? Why for a minute or two you'd think they were Harvard graduates. And yes, the visit to the sweetheart you so faithfully had written. Now to some she may appear to have gone downhill and maybe you were lucky she never accepted that premature proposal. On the other hand her college may have done lots to use what she already had to offer. At any rate, only promises to continue writing can be taken back upon leaving. Home can be the pleasant surroundings of your old room or, if mom and dad have been hard at work, it may mean the living room sofa and a new baby brother or sister. The comfort of being home might not be enjoyed totally knowing that it is only a temporary thing now. It is most enjoyable to pass by the old hang-outs, friends' houses, familiar streets and landmarks all of which made this place hometown. Ironically enough the real pleasure may come upon leaving. It may be for a number of reasons. To some it is knowing that upon returning home again school will be over and a job may be found in the city with a degree in hand. Maybe leaving the nest means independence, and that is a good feeling or maybe college life today is a beneficial and rewarding way to live. |
