Gollum and his Relation to College

If you are aware of some pop culture, you’ll know who Gollum is: a nasty, ghoulish creature. After years and years with the One Ring in his possession, his being has rotted into this evil thing. In his mind there rages a battle between the weakening good and the growing evil. A lot of times, we watch him shift from himself, Sméagol, to his second identity, Gollum. Essentially, he is locked in this constant sort of existential crisis with no escape. This is where he begins to sound like college.

My fangirl self is very quick on comparing reality to TV series and books. If anything, this helps make problems much less like a giant squid of anger and a lot more like handling a hedgehog. Rather than being daunted by SATs, I think of them as the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to take at Hogwarts. Yes it sounds silly, but whatever works right?

Back to Gollum and college. Throughout high school, I was always thinking of what I wanted to study in college. I went from physics to art school to linguistics to communications. Every year, I would have this mini WHAT-AM-I-DOING-WITH-MY-LIFE crisis. And every single time, I ended up deciding on communications. But for some reason, angst just loves high school students and messing with our heads. Let’s just designate angst as Gollum.

Now it’s just a matter of getting into college, which allows for another attack of Gollum. There seems to be a lot of pressure on the people of my generation when it comes to college. It is pretty much expected of us to go and at least get a Bachelor’s degree. We are fed the idea that the only way to get a job is by going to college. Otherwise, you can find yourself wandering the streets begging for money.

While having some sort of college degree opens more opportunities, it certainly is not the only way to go. For a lot of the creative thinkers (writers, dancers, actors, artists) college is a great opportunity to go in depth and learn more about your art. But if you are good at something, and can prove it, you are all set. If you go to college, you should study something having to do with your art, or something that complements your art. If you are a writer, study not just writing, but also what you like writing about. With the fine arts and theatre, you can study education, and become a teacher later.

Another thing for college that can be a nuisance is deciding where you want to study. What I keep telling myself is that I don’t need to decide that now; I can apply, see where I am accepted, and go on from there. But I still become overwhelmed at times. I have a list of 28 possible colleges that really needs narrowed down. I tell myself that I should only apply to schools I would be happy to go to, which has helped. So Gollum, while the battle in your head is unstoppable, the one in my head, and those of my generation, will end. Eventually. College is but the next great adventure.