Senior Day at Beaver Stadium is supposed to be a celebration of the last four (or five) years for Penn State students and student-athletes. The last home game of the season, it’s the last dance for the greatest party in Central Pennsylvania.
This party had all the standard tunes: Hey Baby, Zombie Nation and the like.
There was one new song, which wasn’t so much heard as it was felt projecting from the senior section on Senior Day.
Cue: The Ramones.
I don’t wanna grow up.
For many Penn State seniors, Saturday was the last chance to enter the student section of Beaver Stadium. Sure, graduation is still months away (except for those finishing early. Well done.), but it’s hard not to think about life after Penn State football.
I don’t wanna get a big old loan.
Work them fingers to the bone.
Besides the ring ceremony and the non-stop reminders to get your yearbook photo taken, Senior day is the greatest catalyst for post-Happy Valley panic.
You could see it in the seniors’ eyes on Saturday. They were cheering a little louder than they have for most of the season for a game that really didn’t amount to much. They stayed a little longer than they have most of the season. And, boy, did a lot of them have their arms around one another for the Alma Mater.
Now it’s back to job and graduate school applications.
I don’t wanna have to learn to count.
I don’t wanna have the biggest amount.
Senior year makes you realize why this place is called Happy Valley. Yes, the term began when State College survived an economic downturn, but the name has stuck because of the paradise the area has become, especially when you’re a college student.
Students have all the benefits of living in one of the nicest town in Pennsylvania, and they don’t pay the taxes to do so. Tuition is high, but still cheaper than many other colleges. And the cost of living? Well, just take a quick look at what it will be like when you leave.
Everything one could need is within walking distance of any point downtown. And, for a small town, this place is jam-packed with goings-on.
It usually not until late in senior year that students realize all that the area has to offer, but by then it’s too late.
The only thing to live for is today…
So, seniors, listen up.
For your own sanity, go outside. Many of you believe your two weekend options are going to a friend’s place or a bar. It’s getting a little chilly, but it’s still warm enough on some days to go to a local park, hike Mt. Nittany or bike one of the many trails.
Explore downtown. Some of State College’s greatest treasures are in the heart of downtown, but you don’t see them because you don’t walk down Calder Way or along Beaver Avenue. Take a day to wander through town and find your new favorite coffee shop or sandwich place.
Try new things. Go to the StateCollege.com calendar and find something different to do. Support your peers’ efforts in sports (besides football), the arts (there are concerts, plays and art shows every day), and academics. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
How do you move in a world of fog that’s always changing things?
When you leave this place, you’ll likely want to come back. Most alumni do. Your return should celebrate that which you did, not that which you meant to do.
So go on, learn what this place is all about while you’re still here.
How the hell did it get here so soon?
I don’t wanna grow up.
