In an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith Grey poses the question, “We’re adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?”

When we were children, we hated being young. Now, we’re young adults and we hate being old. Will this cycle ever end?

Back in the ’80s when we were growing up and still being escorted to the bus stop by our parents we could not wait another day to be out from under their control. Now, today, while we still cannot wait to be let free, the thought of graduating college, entering the “real world” and (gasp!) starting a career terrifies students.

Yes, some of us have been given free reign to live our lives how we want, spend our money, and do as we please. Some of us, whether we’re considered lucky because of it or not, still have parents that control our monetary budgets, tell us what to cook for dinner, make random visits to check on us and scold us for making poor decisions. After all, we’re only 20.

We all want to grow up, be our own person and recreate ourselves when we graduate. We want to be free from the stress brought on by essays and midterms and able to enjoy an entire week without teachers breathing down our backs about assignments. We want to be let loose from irate parents questioning every purchase that is swiped on our Visas. So why then are so many students contradicting themselves, and withdrawing their previous comments about not wanting to wait another day to graduate?

Graduating high school was one thing. No more awkward growth stages, scamming your friends for rides to the movies on a Friday night or scrambling to find a date for Homecoming. Graduating from college presents young adults with nothing more than responsibility. Sure, there may be a graduation present tossed into the mix, but it is rarely a job offer or life-long guarantee of never having to work.

Is it the “cool” thing to express fear in leaving our SMU bubble and getting a job where we will have to support our own lifestyles? Every day you hear seniors and even juniors complain about the day they will graduate; some have even banned their friends from mentioning the event that should be a celebration, not a tragic milestone. After all, you’re graduating, not turning 50!

It used to be students would spend 17 years in school. Starting with kindergarten, progressing through elementary and middle school, stumbling through four years of high school, and trying to remember the four years spent at a university. Today, it is not unusual to hear students say they plan on hanging around campus for a fifth year, attending graduate school, maybe law or medical school, and then reluctantly surrendering to a job. Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with graduate, law or medical school, but to some students it is nothing more than an excuse to avoid leaving their little bubble.

Universities and colleges across the nation are freaking out at the rate of students graduating in just four years, and remain dumbfounded as to why they can’t move on with their lives. If parents are willing to pay for their child’s extra years spent broadening their knowledge, then why bother moving on? Life seems pretty good on the Hilltop to most students, and most have no intention of rushing to complete their undergraduate degree.

I remember when I was about 13, I could not wait to be 20. I wanted so badly to be in college, living on my own, eating junk food every day – it sounded like the perfect life. I would not have to report home to my parents every night, there was no curfew to follow, and I could spend my free time with friends instead of chained to a desk. I was too naive to think that the loads of homework, endless job and internship searches, juggling classes with extracurricular activities and having a social life would not be a breeze to handle.

I also didn’t realize that I would still be reporting back to my parents almost every Friday night so I could go pull money out of the ATM. While they never asked where I was going or who I was going with, I still pick up on that lingering suspicion when I give brief details about the previous night’s events.

Would I trade this in for a job though? Probably…not.

Now I know that in just over a year I will have to don the black robe and goofy hat and accept my diploma from SMU. Will I be happy? Of course. Scared? Try terrified. But I do know that there is more to Dallas than tailgating on the Boulevard, going out every other night with friends, and burying myself in Fondren to cram during finals week.

Students often fear the unknown, but what we don’t realize is that the giant unknown world out there is nothing more than another opportunity for us to better ourselves, put our education to good use and see what else we can do with our lives. Fear will only hold us back. Students need to look forward to graduation and starting a new chapter in their life.

Now, if there was just a job offer that came stapled to our degree.

Nicole Jacobsen is a junior journalism and advertising double major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].