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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1997)
bj • ■ - -■ ■ • . ' ’ ' ' ■. ' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■. Michael DONLEY irVi-'A^ <•• •■ ' -• ^;4' /.r ' : • “ ■ ■ %' y ■ ■ :-,r: . ■ , :V:“: ■ 7 ■ - ry^yyy y:} ■ "y :yy , ■' •• ■' :'r **,y „ •, - a* : ‘ ■ V - - -yi , ' t ** Where do you want to get a job when you graduate? Is the grass greener on the other side? For many of us, one of our first acts as college graduates will be to that a lot of us, who will get our education in Nebraska, will also take our talents to other states. College students in this state give a number of reasons why they want to leave. Those of us who are shortsighted, or maybe just ex tremely climate sensitive, may point to the weather as a primary concern. But most of us can see past a few flurries and through a few storm clouds when looking to our future. Other, more substantial, issues then cone into view. The No. 1 reason students even come to college today is to “make good money.” Because of economic differences, New York and Los Angeles profes sional firms offer grads higher starting salaries than local firms. With today’s mentality, some good students seem to be going to the highest bidder. A second, related factor is prestige. _S— This has to do with how other people perceive us and how we perceive ourselves. Name recogni tion of our future employers makes a big difference in how other people will look at our successes. General Motors, IBM and Microsoft are unfortunately not based in Nebraska. An out-of-state relative is going to get a completely ____ttZ Matt Haney/DN different mental picture if we just started a job at one of those corpora tions as opposed to ConAgra. I’m sure comparable entry level jobs at these companies require the same amount of intelligence and talent, but the way these jobs are perceived is completely different. Many Nebraska college students subscribe to the theory that a few people in this country hold most of the power and influence. These people are not commonly thought to reside in Nebraska. Warren Buffet is the obvious exception to this rule, but even people such as Donald Trump and Bril Gates get much more national coverage than Mr. Buffet. This leads us to believe they are the ones who are taking the leadership role in this country. Another obstacle to settling permanently in Nebraska is a possible conflict of ideology. As college students, a lot of our views become more liberal as we are exposed to other ways of looking at issues. We are exposed to many other people’s opinions and natu rally try to use these other views to improve our own. This tends to conflict with the traditionally conservative state of Nebraska. I have three relatives who are UNL alumni. Two have left the state. The Comhusker State will always be a special place for me, but will I be here after graduation? Will I be enjoying the “good life” when I’m 30-something? « There are a lot of things to consider, and I still have a couple of years to make that decision. Mark me down as “undecided.” Donley is a sophomore philoso phy major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. Jessica ' Card brings memories, new desire for change ‘ Over break 1 received a Christ mas card from my great-aunt Betty who wrote to tell me she liked my column and that she was an old woman who wore purple. /\U U1U woman who wears purple... I had to think about it. Apparently my mother had sent her a copy of a column I wrote last fall that was based on the poem “Warning. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I dug through my “DN” box and pulled the column out for a quick read. The whole premise of the poem (and column) is the desire to grow young as I grow old. Young in the sense that I can cast off die shackles of societal expecta tions. Young enough to have fun without worrying about daily business. Young enough to explore the world as jf I am seeing it for the * first dme. And as if I was reading the poem for the first time, I was struck with how much 1 wanted to be this person. A woman who wears purple ' and a red hat “which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me” and makes up for the “sobriety” of her youth by wearing slippers in the rain, picking the flowers in the other people’s gardens and learning to spit. Tbe most important message | from Jenny Joseph's poem comes «-—--— Frankly, I’m not too concerned what people would think if, in say forty years or so, I suddenly turned my back on propriety and adopted a fancy-free lifestyle.” . - - -4ir from the last three lines: “But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised when suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.” and start to wear purple.” Frankly, I’m not too concerned what people would think if, in say 40 years or so, I suddenly turned my back on propriety and adopted a fancy-free lifestyle. I am, however, worried that I won’t be able to make such a change. After 60 years of straight laced, business-minded living, it’s certainly not going to be easy to up and-change my ways. These lines are my challenge: I must start practicing to live young now. It’ll be too late when I’ve grown old. If there were ever a time to decide to live “young”—it’s now. You and I are sitting together in this precan ■ ous continuum. We’ve spent the last several years struggling to push youth back into the closet and trying to be “all grown up.” But what’s the rush? So many “grown-ups” arc dour, bitter and full of regret. It seems to me that they’ve lost not die will to live (that’s a little too deep, even for me), but the sparkle in their eyes, the bounce in their steps and the smile on their faces. have to lose my passion for life! So today I begin to live my life of youthfulness. 5 I’m going to start by trying to take myself less seriously. That’s a major task—ask anyone who knows me. But it’s a necessary adjustment. Seriousness interferes with my creativity and my ability to be spontaneous. I tend to analyze more and {day less, instead of vice versa. Therefore I need to remember that youthftilness is a state of mind that 1 must commit to now. To be a young woman who wears purple, metaphorically speaking, requires a complete perspective/attitude/ behavioral overhaul. This cannot be some cosmetic make-over. I’m going to stand a little straighter and send out an air of confidence. I’m going to wear a badge that says I love life. I’m no longer sweating the little stuff. I’m going to worry less and relax more. After all, things happen. Sometimes there’s nobody to blame and sometimes you have to own up. In my original column, I wrote that I want to play on the swings with my grandchildren — I can wait for those—or skip down the street should the mood overtake me. And I want to start a think tank with my friends. We will devote our energy to solving the world’s problems all the while enjoying the fresh-cut flowers inr my dining room. But I’ve come to the realization that I can have these things now. By waiting until I’m an old woman, I will have wasted a lifetime of, opportunities to be happy and# fulfilled. So, I’m cutting the driftwood out of my life and focusing on feeling free and being young. And I’m going to start wearing purple. Kennedy Is n senior advertising and broadcasting major and n Daily Nebraskan columnist. i pacK up ana nx)ve. Why | should we stay 1 in Nebraska? | This may I seem like a I highly personal I decision, but ■ many Nebras | kans are worried i about the fact
