If we thought that coming to college was a dose of the real world, just wait until you actually graduate. Your “A” in Art 101 won’t get you too far.

The bubble of college is actually the least realistic world that you can live in. Days filled with perfectly budgeted food, little or no income, sleeping in with constant naps, partying Thursday through Saturday, and saving all of your important priorities for Sunday is the furthest from reality.

I remember my senior year of high school when my teachers always said, “you’re going to the real world next year,” or “next year you’re not going to have any help.”

It’s really not that true.

Granted, there is more independence in college, and along with that comes more responsibility without our parents present to solve all of our problems.

I came here to become a journalist, so please tell me why I’m taking art and nutrition? And why is my nursing major roommate taking a classical music class? There really seems to be no reason.

College is supposed to make you ready for the professional world, but with required courses that are the furthest thing from our majors, there’s only hope that we’ll come close to being prepared for what’s to come our futures careers.

As a sophomore my frustration is increased because over the summer I was actually in the “real world” for two months as an intern for a local newspaper. I was in an open office with stressed, middle-aged journalists each furiously typing away at their computers, trying to meet their deadlines. That was my world for two months. I lived in the “real world,” and it was probably one of the most valuable “classes” I’ve ever taken.

From this experience, I learned what it was like to be an adult with responsibilities and with other people counting on you.

Is there a class for that in school? I don’t think so.

I understand that general education courses are required to produce “well-rounded” students and are intended for us to appreciate subjects other than our major, but it’s difficult. I don’t have patience for art when I know I have a journalism assignment due.

Getting around these requirements is the only thing that will help you gradually emerge into the “real world.” Obviously it’s required that we have to take these menial and time-consuming classes but we just have to have bigger plans.

Internships and networking are key.

So after you’re done studying for your Sewing 101 midterm, create a résumé, talk to employers and become a professional; it’s the only way that you’ll be able to become an active member in the “real world,” otherwise known as the “career world.”