Wouldn't it be nice

I often think of things I'd do differently if I went back to college now -- with my accumulated stock of wisdom, hindsight, etc. Mind you, I have no intention of going back to earn another degree, I just like to think about the fun/interesting fields of study I'd like to explore. In The New Republic, Martin Edlund describes doing just that. No, he didn't do anything so pedestrian as signing up for classes as a non-degree seeking student or entering an "adult learners" program. No, he simply started showing up and sitting in on classes he thought would be interesting.

College, like youth, is wasted on the young. This is not merely idle philosophizing on my part, but a conclusion arrived at from hard-won experience. Last year, nearly a decade after graduating from college, I spent two illicit semesters back in school--sneaking into classes, playing intercollegiate sports, and getting drunk in the dorms.

How did he pull this off?

I ventured out onto campus a day early to scope out classrooms, striking from my list any that looked too small for me to hide in the crowd. That night, perched on a barstool at the local watering hole, I tried on false identities--literature grad student, American Studies fellow, returning G.I.--that I might use to parry questions from suspicious teaching assistants or flirtatious coeds. To my relief and disappointment, my classmates couldn't have cared less about me.

So, how did he approach his second opportunity to be a college student? To his surprise, he embraced the academic aspects.

I took to being a fake student with a zeal I never knew as a real, tuition-paying one. I bought the books and course packets. I devoured the assigned readings. I dreaded midterm and finals weeks--not because I had to take the tests, but because I couldn't.

This reminds me a lot of Thailand Jeff's approach to UAH classes in the summer. Though Jeff insists on playing by the rules, I often make fun of him [sorry, TJ, but you know it's true] because he's likely the only student in the class who cares a whit about the readings and assignments. Gee, maybe that's not so unusual.

Anyway, the rest of the piece is devoted to Mr. Edlund's druken escapades with the water polo team -- which he joined, no questions asked. To me, though, the part about his approach to the classes was much more interesting. I've always heard, "With age comes wisdom," and boy do I hope it's true. This piece gives me some hope.

By the way, I'd do a hard science if I could go back and do it all over again.