Student loans can make it more difficult to have fun in college. Individuals with student debt may not have the resources needed to take trips in college or spend money on other things that can make the undergraduate experience more fun. In addition, student loans can cause a substantial amount of stress, which can put a damper on the college experience. However, students should have fun in college for a variety of reasons even if this makes it more difficult to pay off student loans.
Let me just first say that I did not realize how students should have fun in college even if this impacted your financial goals as a student. I saved money in incredible ways as a student and during my student debt repayment saga. I stayed on campus for all breaks because I did not want to spend money traveling home or to some of the more exotic locations to which my classmates traveled during vacations. Moreover, I did not participate in many of the off-campus events that my friends attended because I did not want to spend extra money.
In my own defense, my savings tactics in college were more about survival than anything else. I had very little money in college, and what I did have needed to be used on textbooks and other resources that I required to succeed as a student. In addition, I did not have parents upon which I could rely to give me substantial sums of money as an undergraduate, although my grandparents were able to come through for me at times, which was greatly appreciated. However, I do wish I recognized earlier that students should have fun in college even if you have to tap into savings to do so.
The main reason why students should have fun in college even if this interferes with academic and financial goals is because it is important to build social relationships as an undergraduate. As previously mentioned on this website, I operate a law firm with my brother and have done so for the past few years. When originating business, I often rely on my personal connections from college and other times of my life.
However, I may have less personal and social connections from college than others because I did not prioritize having fun and forging bonds with others as much as my classmates. In my career as a lawyer, I do not really rely on any of the information I learned in college, but rather the social and personal relationships that I created in college, which are essential in bringing in new work. Such connections are best forged while partying and pursuing similar activities, and this is one important reason why students should have fun in college even if this impacts other pursuits.
Another important reason why students should have fun in college even if this impacts other goals is because college is an amazing time to meet people from different backgrounds. As many people who attended college can relate from firsthand experience, the social learning that occurs in college is almost as important as academic learning. Whereas people may grow up in homogenous communities during their childhood and teenage years, college is a time to interact with people from different geographic areas and backgrounds.
Making connections with people different from yourself can help you learn other people’s perspectives and understand more about cultures, society, and other subjects. However, such learning does not happen through osmosis, and it is only from interacting with students of various backgrounds that students can be enriched by the diverse backgrounds of people in a college community. As a result, students should have fun in college even if this impacts academics and other pursuits because they should not miss out on the chance to interact with so many people from different backgrounds, which might not be available at another time in their lives.
Another reason why students should have fun in college is because it is the perfect time of your life to let loose and have new experiences. College is a unique time when people do not have as many responsibilities and can have fun with less consequences than they may have when they enter the “real world.” In addition, it is far easier to meet people in college than it is after you graduate, and this is the perfect time to be around other young adults and have fun.
I did not have as much fun in college as I should have, and this definitely set me back. After I graduated, I definitely needed to make up for lost time, and I spent a substantial part of my 20s cutting loose and having a good time to make up for my discipline as a student. College students should definitely not feel bad if they are spending a healthy amount of time on having fun. In a very real sense, they could be building a foundation upon which they can work when they enter the “real world” and they need to get serious with vocational and other responsibilities.
All told, college students should have fun even if this gets in the way of some financial or other goals. Social relationships are extremely important, and they can be more meaningful than the information you learn in college. Moreover, having fun as a student can make you a more mature adult after you graduate.