The College Experience

March 2, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

Daily writing prompt

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

For me, there was no greater growth experience than college. The college experience is like no other. The sheer number of new people and new ideas you’re exposed to in a short timeframe is bound to change even the most “set in their ways” 18-year old.

I was lucky my parents paid the bills and my college had no core requirements whatsoever, so I could take whatever classes I wanted—from poetry to Russian history. (Amazingly, I didn’t take a single science class.) Throw in my semester abroad, internships, guest speakers, drug experimentation, and a winter trip to the Soviet Union, and it really was a mind-expanding time for me.

*Hanging out in college: my roommates Ann and Carla and other friends in our on-campus apartment in 1984 or 85. The three of us shared one bedroom, but we had a nice living room and a kitchen.*

It’s sad that the liveaway college experience has become so expensive and debt-producing. It’s not fair. I think the four-year model needs to go. Three years of college is plenty, and would be significantly cheaper. “Uni” – as they call it in the UK – is only three years. I mean, maybe a few select majors (like Engineering) need four years, but everyone else (Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, Business, etc.) could be done in three.

Speaking of the college experience, we went to see One Love, the Bob Marley biopic, based on DanLovesFilm’s recommendation (American critics be damned) and I had fun. There are definitely some weaknesses in the script and I had a hard time understanding the Jamaican/Rastafarian accent, but the music is the music and it’s great. Marley is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir and he’s 🔥

So, GenX: I recommend you have yourself a cocktail or a weed gummy (or both) and go see One Love. You’ll have a good time jamming in your theater seat to one of our key college soundtracks.

Ode to flip-flops

February 19, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.

My feet don’t match. The women on both sides of my family have severe bunions. My genes, combined with too many pairs of pointy shoes in the 80s, led to me develop large, painful bunions by the time I was 25.

One day, in my mid-twenties, I had to cut short a walk home from work and hop on the T because my feet hurt so badly. That was it. I loved walking in Boston and I decided this was no way to live. I made the decision to go under the knife and get the worse bunion removed surgically (my left one). I figured I’d go back and get the other one done later.

Well, the pain was SO bad after the surgery, I never went back and got the right foot done. (I was in a big surgical boot for 6 months and then I had to have a screw removed from my newly straightened big toe.)

In the grand scheme of things, a bunion is pretty minor, but my right foot still causes me a lot of pain, especially when wearing any kind of a dress shoe. When I have to get dressed up for something, the dilemma is always the shoes. What shoes could I possibly wear with this outfit that won’t hurt? There really are no comfortable dress shoes for me.

Consequently, I have worn flip-flops to more occasions than I care to remember. I have gold ones, silver ones, sparkly ones, beaded ones, leather ones, plus the usual plastic/foam ones. Flip-flops are really the only shoes that don’t hurt at all.

So, here’s to my numerous pairs of flip-flops. They don’t hide my ugly bunion from the world, but at least they showcase a nice pedicure.

A fancy pedicure I got once. Also, I just discovered there’s a flip-flop emoji 🩴

College: 80s edition

January 3, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments

What colleges have you attended?

I went to just one college—Trinity College in Connecticut—four years, straight through, with one semester abroad. In many ways, it was the quintessential New England liberal arts college experience, except we were in a city (Hartford), not a rural area. Music was a big part of it. My college memories all come with a soundtrack. That’s one reason I love this blog. If you’re a GenX music lover (and who doesn’t love music?), you need to check it out. He’s a wonderful writer with a great playlist. It’s about as close to my college soundtrack as I can imagine.

Here are a couple photos from Trinity College Spring Weekend 1985. We had the Ramones and Til Tuesday on campus. Til Tuesday leader/songwriter Aimee Mann (with the platinum mohawk) had a huge hit with “Voices Carry,” so I think she was the headliner, but it looks like there was some slam dance/mosh pit energy happening during the Ramones. What could possibly go wrong? (According to classmates on Facebook, something bad did happen that day, but I have no recollection of it. I just remember a good ole time. Funny how memory can be selective like that.)