If Mark Twain was Your Roommate

You have been getting all the emails about career fairs, resume help, and the overall agonizing feeling that you aren't doing enough to secure success in the future.  It doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't doing enough, but you live in an environment that is geared to nudge you in that direction whether you want to or not.  It is times like these when some life advice actually sounds less like a lecture and more like something you should take seriously.

I have recently been reading the biography of Mark Twain. I know right...me and every 7th grade middle schooler picking up The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for the first time. This isn't a quarter life crisis or anything, but really he was an incredibly interesting and entertaining person. I bet if you had to pick from the majority of autobiographies his would easily be one of the funniest and most entertaining to tackle.  Anyone with an interest in writing or overall humor of life should consider giving his life a read.  He was a poor college aged student, discovered his passions, failed, succeeded, and ultimately became one of the most renowned Americans of the 19th century.  While the later half of his life is far less encouraging, his years that the majority of us are in right now are downright inspiring. We spend a good part of our 20s sifting through hopes, dreams, and people.  Surprisingly enough that's exactly what we young adults were doing in centuries before us, except our mode of transportation isn't rafting down a swampy river and they weren't able to update their location through 5 social networking sites simultaneously.  I promise this isn't about to be another summary of his life, but reading the book got me thinking...What if Mark Twain was your college roommate?  Maybe you haven't considered much about your future yet, a live life in the now kind of person, and you probably haven't thought about Mark Twain since you were 12.  Regardless of your status Mark Twain offers some advice that may be helpful to anyone not sure about what to do next. Below is the nicest looking Twain picture I could find, if you look more into his life you will see that the seems to be on the verge of growling in almost every other shot of him. 

roofbeamreader.com

After reading hundreds of noteworthy quotes from this book I have come to realize that if I should ever be so lucky to have a roommate as wise as Mark Twain at the age of 21, the world would make much more sense. 

If Mark Twain was your roommate he would probably say:

1. You will not get everything you want.  

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.-MT

With everyone in your academic life telling you how incredibly intelligent you are because you bought their textbook for $80 at the bookstore, and a GPA to prove it, it is no wonder that we go into the world excepting the very best.  Throughout college you are surrounded by opportunity that was designed for you to help cultivate skills and passions that will serve you for the long term. Consequently, this generation has been labeled as having an extreme sense of entitlement. When you get into the world take a step back and realize that this isn't the same environment you have grown used to.  Use your intelligence and talents to reach your goals being mindful of the fact that it may take more time and you don't know everything yet (believe it or not).

2. If you don't want to be treated like a 12 year old, then don't act like one. 

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.-MT

The majority of us probably associate this quote with inter-generational relationships like the kind you see on TV where she's 20 and he's 40, but I am talking social standing.  There is nothing more intimidating than going into you first interviews, or upper level classes and realizing you are the youngest person in the room. Know that you are smart enough, mature enough, and motivated enough to go after whatever it may be for your future. 

3. Shut your pie hole.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.-MT

We have endless ways to speak our minds these days. Your mouth, computer, cell phone, tablet etc. are just a few of the many modes of communication.  With all of these great intellectual ideas flying around it is no wonder the college students feel empowered to speak their opinions.  Where we are known to fall short is where our information is coming from. I'm not saying go fact check the chemical content of your breakfast to ensure that it was 100% gluten free so we will believe you, but speak with an informed perspective.

4. So you were up on Facebook until 2am? Sounds productive...

A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.-MT

Take advantage of the resources at your finger tips.  There is so much more to learn than the prescribed reading from your syllabus. I get it, times one syllabus by 6 and you've got enough reading to last you until next year. While there is an overwhelming amount of mandatory reading going around making time to learn what you want to learn makes things a little more exciting.

5. I doubt that 'lose 10 pounds in three days' thing you've got going is effective. 

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.-MT

While we are a huge and diverse resource on campus the best thing you can do is educate yourself on a variety of resources and health opinions. Health and the information available on similar topics are as diverse as the countless pre-made budget pushing grocery lists that you search on Pinterest, go read about it.

6. It's not the end of the world if you can't get into the bars yet.     

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.-MT

Mark Twain and every adult in your life will tell you to not rush this time, these are the best years of your life. While many of us probably don't disagree with this, it is never settling to think that you are quickly running out of this awesome time of young-ness. According to everyone else, everything that comes afterwards is far less exciting. Use this time to your advantage and enjoy as much of it as you can. The rest of your life will incorporate different lessons and stages, worry about those when you get to them.  

7. Reading a how to text book can't solve all of your problems.  

Don't let schooling interfere with your education.-MT

There are many components to learning and how you develop as an individual. Finding balance between work and play, book smarts and street smarts, etc. will get you far. Luckily for all students the world does not hinge on your memorization of all of the bones in the human body.  

We hope this Mark Twain reading was a little more exciting than the ones you watched in history class!

-RV