Letter to the Editor:
Enjoy the student’s life while you can

It’s been less than a year since I found myself stranded in a whole new world. The world I live in today is so different from what I was accustomed to.

Recently, I visited some friends who are still attending college. And I realized that I miss Rider University. I still remember my life as a college student: days filled with hanging out with friends, sprinting to classes, writing research papers, suffering from insomnia and eating the scrumptious Jumbo Yumbo.

I miss all the walks around the sparkling lake, the underage parties with cheap beer, the nocturnal rendezvous with friends, the conversations with brilliant professors, the Thursday nights at The Rider News, the thrilling victories of our athletic teams and all the other great things that happened over the course of my undergraduate years.

When I graduated, I swore to myself that I’d rather be unemployed than stay at a job I hated. Now, I make a new vow promising that I am going to endure this hardship until July, that I’ll work a full year before I leave. I guess I should be grateful that I have a job when so many others are still looking. I should convince myself that I am blessed to be a cube monkey, earning a decent salary and living at home.

Now I am at work, writing an article, thinking about how much I miss Rider and how all the events from my past have led up to this moment. Almost a year ago, I shook hands with the Dean of Communications, who congratulated me on graduating from Rider. And at that time, the whole world was in my hands. I could have been anything and gone anywhere. But what did I want?

Armed with only a college diploma, I wasn’t prepared for the “real world.” The real world is cold, tough and merciless. I am brainwashed to believe that my role in life simply is to work until I retire. Who in their right mind would want to work a brainless job from 9 to 7 every weekday? It boils down to salary, medical and dental benefits.

My job sucks. Why? Because it’s not college. Although Christmas comes twice a month, my paycheck brings responsibilities and deadlines. There is a lack of intellectual stimulation at work. Every morning, I wake up feeling like I am wasting my life. Aside from the monetary compensation, work has provided me with a bleak outlook on life.

I feel so disconnected from society. My daily morning drives are filled with radio personalities spewing Hollywood gossip. It’s such a travesty that I know more about Paris Hilton’s boy-crazy adventures than I do about the world news.
I have not found any time to enjoy my hobbies ­— such as photography, playing music and cooking. On a day to day basis, I look forward to stagnation and weight gain. At work, I am well-fed with a lightning fast internet connection and McDonald’s value meals. My non-active lifestyle has given me a larger waist size.
Rider provided a place for me to learn something new on a regular basis. The hallways were always filled with a diversity of people and ideas. It was intoxicating to be constantly intellectually stimulated.

Please, raise your glass. Here’s a toast to the cowards who were smart enough to stay away from the “real world” and pursue a graduate education. The grass is truly greener at Rider University.

— Allen Huang
Rider News Photo Editor ’03-’05
Class of 2005