By ALEXIS THOMAS, copy editor

As graduation approaches, many of us are more terrified than excited to zip up the long gown and walk across the stage to receive our degree. 

Several years ago, graduating seniors were ecstatic about the adventures and potential careers that lie ahead. Job offers were common, and their futures looked bright.

Today, many of us are left with limited options and told by fellow graduated alum to “stay in college as long as you can.”

As much as most of us would like to pull a Van Wilder, reality seems to creep up faster than we had ever imagined. In less than three months, the “I’m a college kid” excuse is no longer acceptable.  As a senior graduating in June, I would have never imagined that exiting college would be scarier than entering.

Four years ago, I made it my college career goal to finish my degree in the allotted four-year time frame. Today, I almost regret working so hard to finish on time, because where do you go from here?

Most college students graduate, move home with their parents and go back to working an “in the meantime” job until they get an offer worth the money and the hard work it took to earn their degree.

Unfortunately, the economy sucks and employers don’t want to hire a fresh college graduate—they’d rather have someone with experience and knowledge within the field. So college gradates have to stand out and be that much better than the next applicant.

We now enter the rat race called life. Graduating college is an amazing achievement, and no one can take that degree away from you. But in the back of my head, I sometimes wish I’d had a couple more crazy nights just so I could stay in college a little bit longer.

I mean, in the end, what do you remember more: all the neat stuff you learned, or all of the shenanigans you got yourself into during college?