Co-op is a magnificent experience. It’s the main selling point of Northeastern, and (hopefully) it’s going to be what lands me a job when I graduate next spring. I wouldn’t trade in my time at the Boston Globe or Text 100 for anything.
There is something I’m struggling with now and I know other students feel the same: I feel too young to be in the “real world.” Yo-yoing back and forth from classes to co-op always changes my mood.
The sitcom entrance after a long day at the office: men loosening their ties and women kicking off their heels. Co-op provides the illusion — the oasis — of freedom and no homework! Right there, that’s the statement of someone young trapped in an older world. No homework? That’s not the reason why we graduate from college and get a job, but it is what drives some to get a co-op job.
It’s good to mix up things from classes to co-op; it seems to take away the monotony. At the same time, I feel like now is the time when we should be carefree and not worry about jobs.
Still so young, the fissure of the two worlds is taking its toll on me. Maybe it’s just boredom with waking up everyday at 7 a.m. and being home by 6:30 p.m., or maybe it’s me settling and being sick of classes. I haven’t quite figured it out.
Right now, many of us are straddling our futures and what we think we want in the present. Some of us are in serious relationships where marriage is already being talked about. While I don’t discourage true love and all that may come with it (diamonds and groomsmen according to television), I feel like sometimes people are just hurrying up to settle down. Why are we doing monotonous things when we’re supposed to be selfish and do what we want all the time, switching it up for our needs? It’s a confusing struggle of ages, and I know I’m not alone.
A wise woman once said, “Sometimes doing the same thing for a really long time freaks me out, routine freaks me out. But then again, always doing new things can be lazy … it’s tricky. I can be very sneaky with myself.”
Thank you, Bjork. I will try to keep that in mind and stop freaking myself out with what sort of job market I’m going into, what sort of life I’ll have in the far away future and just try and adjust myself accordingly.
Instead of picturing myself in the past, when I didn’t work at 14-years-old, or looking to the future, when I want to get a job doing public relations in New York City, I’ll try and work on doing things for me.
I hope every other student on co-op or in classes tries to be a little selfish, and not pay attention to everything parents push for them: a successful future. I’ll worry about it when the time comes.
After all, Woody Allen said, “Everything our parents said was good is bad. Sun, milk, red meat … college.”
It’s up to us to find out what is really good for us.
— Lauren Rouleau is a junior journalism major and the managing editor of the Northeastern News.
