As my time here at AU begins to come to a close, I've found myself wondering if I have any regrets - anything that I wish I had done.
My initial reaction was to revert to the safe answer - how could I have regrets? For three years, I've managed to be active throughout this campus, from raising school spirit to volunteering my time helping others. I've had internships in both the public and private sector. I've made D.C. my home.
But my tuition doesn't pay for any of those things - or at least not a significant part of them. My tuition here at AU goes to academic classes - classes meant to enrich my mind and expand my horizons. Not counting my time abroad, I have now taken 28 classes at AU - 28 professors, 28 syllabi, 28 times scrawling my classroom number on a piece of paper thrown inside my wallet.
I enjoy difficult classes. They're a chance to rise to the challenge and stimulate my mind. When I don't like classes, it isn't because they are hard (despite the complaints my roommates have certainly heard throughout the years); I don't like classes when they're a waste of time. I don't like classes in which professors are unknowledgeable, lectures are boring, or discussion is scarce. Be honest - we've all been there.
So I decided to revisit those 28 classes, albeit with a more cynical eye. And I realized I do, indeed, have regrets. My conclusion was that in six classes - six of 28 - I did not take a single meaningful thing from; wasted my money. I could have dropped them, searched out a different General Education to take, or rearranged my schedule for another professor. But I didn't - and I regret that I settled for less than AU's best possible opportunities.
I ask myself now, looking back, why I bothered to stay in a class I knew would be bad from the get-go. Why did I bother putting in the effort if I knew that I would not take anything from it, if I knew that staring at mindless and trivial PowerPoint slides every day would do nothing for me in the long run?
Instead, I think it is important for us to take class selection more seriously. We pay quite a lot to be at this university. We deserve classes that hold our attention, the best professors, intelligent discussion and real-world application.
For three years, I had a fear of dropping a class I didn't like and going back to the course-book to find something new. For three years, I never had a schedule I completely liked.
This semester, though, enough was enough. I finally stood up and dropped a class I knew wouldn't provide the intellectual stimulation I needed. And you know what? It was a liberating experience. Now that I'm a senior, I feel like I don't have to settle for anything less than complete happiness when I consider my course load. That realization, though, didn't have to wait until senior year.
Learn from my errors and graduate with no academic regrets. Choose classes that you want, and if they don't evolve into what you need, don't settle. Don't stay. Try something new.
As AU students, we deserve to get the most possible out of our years here. Next semester, ponder the opportunities that your classes present. In our constant drive to get ahead in the world, we tend to go through whichever door is open to us. Instead, pause for a moment, and perhaps take a bold and uncharted step. When opportunity knocks, you don't always have to answer.
Then sit-down with your course catalogue, and start reading.
Carl Seip is a senior in the School of Public Affairs and the AU Issues columnist for The Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.
