I heard a snippet on the news this morning about a Georgetown University student who is advertising for a personal assistant. Seems his college life is too demanding, and he needs help, so much so that he is willing to pay for it.
ROTL LMAO.
College life is supposed to be demanding. It is a special time in life in which you learn and grow and become an adult. College helps prepare a person to live an independent, productive, and responsible life.
At least that is the way it is supposed to be. Perhaps the guy who needs a personal assistant in college just needs to go home to his mommy.
During the college years, a person should learn to handle the responsibilities of daily living. This includes the mundane chores, like feeding yourself, cleaning up, washing clothes, paying bills, and in general, taking care of day-to-day business. Doing these things yourself builds your skills and abilities to take care of yourself for the rest of your life.
The primary reason for the college experience is learning career skills that will prepare you to work productively. Chances are you will not stay in the same job or the same career for all of your work life, but you attend college to study and prepare to do something that will at least get you started.
None of these things can be a proper learning experience if delegated to paid help. College is a time to grow up. You can’t pay someone to do that for you.
hahah sounds like this guy either watched the movie Van Wilder one too many times, or grew up with a nanny, butler, personal chef and driver. Now he has to share a room, do laundry and feed himself with people who have done things like that their whole life?! Bah that is so below him, how will he survive? I wonder if he also hired someone to find him friends as well…hmm.
I feel that this student at Georgetown is finally figuring out what the real world is like once he went away to school and he cannot seem to handle it which has left him seeking a personal assistant. He probably assumed that his life away at school would be one of constant pampering and ease. This shows how little he knew.
I agree very much with what you have said regarding college being the time to learn how to live on your own and ultimately take care of yourself. I am a junior in college now and being on my own for these past few years was a struggle at first, but now I feel much more confident in myself. I can pay my bills, cook for myself, and even do my own laundry. Who would have thought!
Perhaps the reason this Georgetown student is so flustered about living on his own away from home is because of the way he was treated while growing up. My first thought after reading the blog was that maybe this boy was treated like royalty while growing up and was shielded from the struggles and hardships that the real world possesses. Once he left the nest and went to Georgetown, all of life’s struggles came out of hiding because his parents were not there to protect him and do everything for him.
Surviving away from the home does seem to be one of the biggest struggles for college students. I will admit that I was scared at first, but after a few months I grew to truly love living my life on my own and being independent. I feel that I can do more without the help of my parents now. Hopefully the Georgetown student has learned to adjust to the rigors of growing up. If not then I am sure he was able to pay someone to do it for him.
I think this is the oddest thing ever that a college student is actually advertising for a personal assistant. Even if I wanted to I would never be able to do it. I am a poor college student. I feel he needs to learn how to do things on his own. Apparently he got everything handed and given to him when he was living at home. He comes to college and it is a complete reality check for him. I agree that college is a learning experience, and you need to learn to do things on your own. You are not going to have mommy or a personal assistant around to do everything for you. I have learned so much throughout my college career by living on my own. I pay for majority of my expenses, with little help from my parents. College has definitely helped me grow up into a mature woman. I would have had a totally different experience if I lived at home and commuted to college. It teaches how to be independent and other life lessons that will help you for when you are older. I honestly did not have any problems when adjusting to college. I was ready for the challenge and to be on my own for the first time. It has been the best experience ever.
My first thought upon reading about this “personal assistant” was the same as that discussed here by Professor Potter. College has always been viewed as a period in which people make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In college, you learn to take care of yourself and be responsible for everything that comes your way. You cannot possibly learn responsibility and maturity when you are delegating your work to a personal assistant.
I have several friends that are of college age but have yet to attend college. These friends are far less mature and less responsible for their actions than other friends that I have that are attending college. I do not think that maturity and responsibility are just gained with age. To gain these traits, you must have the opportunity to display them. Many people that stay at home and either attend a local college or do not attend college at all do not gain responsibility and maturity at the same rate as people who do go to college. A person that remains at home has Mom and Dad to help them with his/her responsibility and thus, is never forced to become responsible.
In the case discussed in this blog, the person might not have Mom and Dad available to take over responsibilities, but instead has chosen to pay a person to do the same things that Mom and Dad would do if that person had stayed at home. It also made me wonder what this person is truly being paid to do. I wonder if the personal assistant is only being paid to do things like cleaning, laundry and other random tasks. On the other hand, the personal assistant could be being paid to do class assignments along with household chores.
Whether the personal assistant is purely doing household chores and errands or if the person has been paid to assist with coursework as well, the Georgetown University student will never learn to be responsible. As Professor Potter stated, the point of college is to prepare you for the real world. By hiring a personal assistant, this student will never be prepared for what his/her life will entail after college. You cannot have a personal assistant for every aspect of life for the rest of your life. You have to grow up sometime.
I feel as though the student at Georgetown is finally realizing that you are on your on especially when you go away to school. I think that he expected people to help him out and he had this image of “college” like it is in the movies where all you do is party.
I agree with you about how college is demanding, you need to grow and become an adult. Being from New York I have learned that no one is there telling you what to do, your on your own and you need to find a balance with everything. When I was younger I can honestly say that I would of never been able to sit down and do my homework without my parents telling me to do it four to five times. I also did not how to do my laundry until a few years ago, be able to clean my room, be able to share a room, and feed myself.
The reason that the Georgetown student might be stressed about being away from home is because of the lifestyle that you grow up in. Many rely on their parents for everything and truly never become fully dependent. Once he left home he probably got a reality check and realized he was not at home anymore and things are not as easy and you’re on your own. Being away from home is not only hard but can be very stressful at times. When I had first started at Towson not only was I homesick from time to time, but also times got very hard. I realized that I had to be independent and learn to grow up. I hope now the Georgetown students will adjust to his situation and find out that by growing up you cant pay for your issues to go away, you have to learn to deal with them. If he found someone to do it, he might never be able to grow up.
This is so crazy. Whoever the student is that was actually thinking about getting a personal assistant is even crazier. I agree with the fact that if you are too lazy to complete your own assignments then college is not the place for you. College is about starting your new life on your own. You are the only person that knows what you want to do with your life so why would you need an assistant for that? Along with that idea, I don’t know any college student that can afford wasting money on a personal assistant. My extra money currently goes to everything surrounding school including classes, books, and rent. If a student has that much extra money to give away then they are on the high and lucky end of the spectrum. Most students are struggling with money issues and they would be the ones to apply for that personal assistant job. I would conclude from this student needing a personal assistant that they were extremely spoiled in their home as a child growing up. That only hurts the child in the future instead of making them more independent. That student is going to be in for a reality check once they graduate and mommy isn’t around to bail them out if needed.
I find it so weird that a college student wants a personal assistant! That idea has never crossed my mind, even when I felt the day was too short. I like being on my own at college and I wouldn’t want to hire an assistant to run my errands for me or constantly remind me of all the things I needed to get done (My mom does that enough when I’m home!). Being at college has really taught me how to be independent and I love it!
My first semester freshman year of college, I attended Montclair State University in New Jersey and was very disappointed in my choice. No matter how much I tried to make the best of the school it just wasn’t for me. I was going home every weekend or really any night my class schedule would allow me. I hated it and felt that I wasn’t getting the “college experience” like everyone else. I still felt like I lived at home.
Transferring to Towson University was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. I loved all the freedom I had here, and because of it I have grown to be a responsible person. Of course there were days when I didn’t manage my time well, but those mistakes have made me more conscientious.
This student who wants a personal assistant is crazy! I love being on my own at college. It has helped me to gain the assurance to know that when I graduate college I am going to be okay.