Getting to be a college student once again; some things change, some don’t
After college we all have to grow up, get a real job and act appropriately in the real world.
There is one acceptable weekend where a grown-up is allowed to revert back to his/her college years — Alumni Weekend.
But this was no school sanctioned alumni weekend; this was my fraternity’s alumni weekend.
So I left my professional life in Pittsburgh, packed up my car and made the four-hour drive to Miami to make mistakes and see old friends.
This wasn’t my first trip to Miami; I visited in October. But this was the first trip where other “adults” came, too. And just like me, when they walked into the AEPi house, they instantly started acting like a fifth, or in some cases 12th-year senior.
Guys ranging in age from their early 20s to late 30s all hanging out again. It was like we had never left.
We went from nice beers, good wines and expensive liquors to the college staples of Natural Light, boxes of wine and the cheapest rum and vodka money could buy.
I found it ironic that now as adults, with money, we still try to be as cheap as possible once we return to campus.
One noticeably large change within myself and the other alums were our topics of conversation.
Talk use to center around what girls were being dated and hangovers from parties the night before. Now, the hot topics were about wives, engagements, kids and when the right time to start taking Bayer Aspirin is to avoid a heart attack.
While I might have had to call my girlfriend or parents while at Miami, these guys were calling their wives and their children — sometimes not in the most sober state of mind.
The younger guys knew we were still young, but being around the older alumni, we knew what was ahead of us.
But it’s OK. When you go back to college, you shouldn’t be expected to have to deal with your non-college life. Believe me the topic of Pittsburgh Jewish newspapers never came up.
It was a nice change of pace to be back at my alma mater. Since I’ve only been gone a year, not too much has changed at Miami. But after talking to the older alumni, I know part of the lure to going back to school years from now will be to see what has changed and what has stayed the same.
The campus itself may change, but the people do not. The annoying brother is still annoying; the one who got all the girls still can. The weekend was like none of us ever left.
And even though we had hoped to be celebrating a Miami RedHawk ice hockey championship, the fact that the team blew a two-goal lead with one minute to play didn’t damper our
spirits.
You couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, relaxing with friends and acting like a stupid college student, even if it was just for 48 hours.
Oh, some of you might be wondering if I made any mistakes during the weekend.
What happens at Miami stays at Miami.
(“On My Own,” which is published monthly, deals with issues facing a young Jewish adult as he lives on his own in a new city. Mike Zoller can be reached at mikez@thejewishchronicle.net.)
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