By Holly Hox Forget Me Knots

As of May 21, 2008, I will be busting out of this college setting and heading out into the real world. Having been in school since pre-K, it’s weird for me to think of life outside this little hub I’ve been in for the past three years.

Out in the real world, you don’t really know anyone’s age. At the University, it’s safe to assume that all undergrads are between the ages of 18 and 22, give or take a year or two. It’s been like this my entire life-throughout elementary, middle and high school.

Also, out in the real world, you no longer have an immediate connection with everyone. At the University, our instant connection is college. You don’t have to struggle for conversation, because you immediately know how to subcategorize.

“What year are you?”

(Junior = 20 or 21-years -old)

“What’s your major?”

(Marketing = School of Business.)

“Oh, a lot of my friends are in the School of Business.”

(Connection successful.)

You can strike up conversation about any college-related subject. You can ask about clubs, organizations, and hometowns. We really have had it made for us during the years spent in a school setting.

My main concern is how I will have to change. I assume the change is gradual, as you morph to your surroundings. As long as you have good socialization skills and are a civilized person, you shouldn’t have any problems, right?

Considering these two points, I realize that age no longer matters. Like I discussed before, in college, you can walk up to someone with the feeling that he or she is between 18 and 22. But it’s not like you can walk up to someone and ask, “So how old are you?” And for the sake of saving conversation with a 17-year-old when you’re 28, this might be an important factor. I watch a 21-year-old girl date a 32-year-old man, and I find it awkward.

But who am I kidding? In the real world, why does age matter? If two people are down with each other, then the fact that he was already in fifth grade when she was born is overlooked in the land of dating. For me, I can’t see it happening-aren’t you in two different stages of life? But I won’t nitpick.

Won’t it be more difficult to meet people in the real world? Am I destined for a life in the single lane? Should I just give up now? When I asked other University students for advice, the best answer I got was from Kate, 20.

“Age means nothing because people are people wherever you go,” Kate said. “And chances are, they’re just as nervous about meeting you as you are about meeting them. Put on a little lipgloss or an awesome new dress and smile! You’ll be awesome.”

Andrea, 22, gave the advice to shed our casual “young person’s slang” that just won’t cut it in the real world.

“We are also not exposed to as many mature people as we could be, being we are mixed with age ranges from 17 to 20-something,” she said. “So when we step out into the real world, we need to be extra conscious that we are going to be spending everyday with people that may not think, act and speak the same way we do.”

I loved what they had to say. I’m still a hot mess over the situation though, because for me, it’s just really scary. Being in a confined pool of people, and then being dumped into a whole new ocean of people is really overwhelming if you think about it for its surface value. But I’m sure if years and years of people before me could do it, I can definitely do it too.

Word to the wise: start shaping up on your social skills! You don’t want to be that 28-year-old picking up a minor!