It's the conversation heard so many times between a parent and child: "You're going to college?"
What makes this story different is that I am what is known as a non-traditional student.
A non-traditional student is any student who has been out of school for a long period of time or can make pop culture references that leave the other "traditional' students with the deer- in-the-headlights look.
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I mean, who doesn't know who Blair and Tootie are? Or the phrase, "The plane, the plane?"
Being a non-traditional student today means blending the generations and shining a light on the past.
Being a non-traditional student comes with a lot of interesting experiences. I don't know how many times I have been asked "Do you have a student that attends college here?" I have been asked if I was a teacher or a graduate student. All you can do is smile because you know it's an honest mistake.
At first you get looks or stares that seem to say "why are you here?" I remember when I went to my first campus radio station. When I was still in high school, I was asked what I wanted to do with my life. My answer was an easy one: radio.
Many years later, when I decided to go to college, my choice of major was an easy one. I became a mass communications major.
Even before school started I sought out information on the campus radio station and when the meetings were to start.
Upon attending my first official meeting, I remember seeing all the faces that were obviously familiar with each other and wondering if I could ever fit in with these people or would I, being a non-traditional student, ever be accepted. It took awhile to be accepted into their fold but after awhile they realized I was just like them.
They accepted me into their group to the point that they even elected me to a position on their executive board in my first semester. Now they accept me as one of their own, just one of the guys.
That lesson has rippled out into the rest of my college experience, too. I've learned that you're only as out of place as you perceive yourself to be.
College is an amazing growing experience. It's a time of growth and learning and socializing. It's a time of networking and learning how to have confidence in yourself and to believe in yourself.
I only wish I had done this at a more "traditional" time.
Hume is a student in Dan Mason's Introduction to Journalism class at Mansfield University.
