College students do weird stuff for fun, okay? The other night my friend Susan decided to do a Mexican food run at 10:30 P.M. After that, we didn't know what to do with our lives, so she took us on a tour of town until we ended up in a park at midnight. The park was full of not-quite-asleep homeless people. For a while, I wondered if we'd get kicked out of their park, but they respected us and we respected them. We stood a polite distance away and kept our voices down so they can sleep.
Homeless people are so often stereotyped and I was cautioned away from them my entire childhood. But after chilling out in the park for a while, I'm convinced homeless people and college students aren't that different.
Homeless People: Sleep on benches and grass in the night.
College Students: Sleep on benches, grass, and the floor of the Japanese periodical section of the library where no one will look for them. Usually in broad daylight.
Homeless People: Show up to soup kitchens and charity dinners to get free food.
College Students: Join clubs, go to school spirit events, and date just to get free food.
Homeless People: Carry everything they own around with them in bulging backpacks and bundles.
College Students: Carry everything of value around with them and in bulging backpacks and bundles.
Homeless People: Get to be homeless for free. Apply for government assistance to stop being homeless.
College Students: Pay thousands of dollars each year for the privilege of being college students. Apply for government assistance to continue being college students. If they didn't, they'd have to get student loan debts, which will come back to bite them and suck future paychecks dry. They don't want to do that. After all, they could end up homeless.
If I ever end up homeless and need a place to hang out, I'm going back to college.
Homeless people are so often stereotyped and I was cautioned away from them my entire childhood. But after chilling out in the park for a while, I'm convinced homeless people and college students aren't that different.
Homeless People: Sleep on benches and grass in the night.
College Students: Sleep on benches, grass, and the floor of the Japanese periodical section of the library where no one will look for them. Usually in broad daylight.
Homeless People: Show up to soup kitchens and charity dinners to get free food.
College Students: Join clubs, go to school spirit events, and date just to get free food.
Homeless People: Carry everything they own around with them in bulging backpacks and bundles.
College Students: Carry everything of value around with them and in bulging backpacks and bundles.
Homeless People: Get to be homeless for free. Apply for government assistance to stop being homeless.
College Students: Pay thousands of dollars each year for the privilege of being college students. Apply for government assistance to continue being college students. If they didn't, they'd have to get student loan debts, which will come back to bite them and suck future paychecks dry. They don't want to do that. After all, they could end up homeless.
If I ever end up homeless and need a place to hang out, I'm going back to college.
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