Penn's grasp on reality may be flawed: Let's do the Time Warp -- not again?

I threw my laundry into a suitcase and hopped aboard a flight home. I knew my trip back to South Florida -- the land of the butterfly ballot, the early bird special and diamond Rolexes -- would provide a welcome change of pace and scenery. I knew I'd be trading in beer and beggars for sand and sunshine, even if only for two weeks. What I was not prepared for was a journey back in time. "Welcome to Ft. Lauderdale Airport. The local time is 1999. Please watch your overhead luggage as it may have shifted during flight." Every time I go home, it amazes me that nothing has changed. It is as if the moment I left for Penn, my hometown was mysteriously frozen in time. In this eerie, Twilight Zone-ish world, time has ground to a halt. On the drive home to Boca from the airport, I recognize the restaurants, movie theatres and other landmarks of suburban sprawl that I have frequented hundreds of times before. I begin to suspect that something is amiss when the construction projects--new shopping centers, road expansions and other concrete-and-palm eyesores--are in the same half-finished state I last saw them in months ago. When I arrive at my house I am convinced that I have entered into a time warp. My bedroom remains a shrine to my middle and high school days, meticulously maintained and every inch of wall space plastered with sports memorabilia. A pennant proclaims the Miami Hurricanes victors of the 19'9 Orange Bowl. Another sign warns, "DOLPHIN FAN PARKING ONLY: All Others Will Be Towed." Nestled in between these artifacts, my lone, dustless Penn banner is oddly out of place. My parents, too, have been frozen. Sure, they slimmed down while I brought home a gut full of cheesesteaks and 40s. True, my dad now proudly sports the full line of Wharton-logo apparel. But as a whole, they do not seem to have escaped suspended animation either. They have the same friends, same eccentricities and the same corny sense of humor. They still lie on the same spots on the living room couch, reading the same newspapers and watching the same TV shows. The fact that at college I often come home later in the morning than they wake up for work does not prevent them from echoing the same request as they did when I was in high school. "Call if you are going to be out late," rings in my ears as I head out the door. Perhaps the people that have changed the least are my friends from high school. To say that we have had vastly different college experiences is an understatement. One of my friends took classes at the University of Florida, entitled "Coaching Baseball" and "The History of Alcohol." Another friend pierced his tongue because, as he says, it drives the ladies wild. Us Penn kids slave away at the books (and the bars). But the minute we reunite with our other friends back in Boca, it seems as if things have not changed a bit. Unfortunately, time travel gets boring. The very reason college is so fun and exciting is because it is new and different. Every day is a new adventure (at least that's what the admissions brochures tell you). In contrast, time at home travels slower than the endless condo-commando-driven Buicks that dot the local roads. But maybe that's what makes going home fun. Escaping from the high-pressure, competitive world of Penn allows us to enjoy the simple things. Full nights of studying for finals are replaced by full days of laziness. Forget decisions about career paths. More importantly, should I go to the beach or the pool today? Going back home also makes me appreciate college. At home, I realize how much I value the freedom to make my own schedule and keep my own hours. I remember how great it is to have hundreds of friends within walking distance. I even start missing the stress that comes from challenging myself to meet deadlines and achieve difficult goals. But more importantly, trips back in time make you realize what the things are that are really important in life. When we step out of Penn and back into the "real world," we understand that our GPA's, our ability to get into Smoke's or our perceived "social status" at college are all pretty irrelevant. While the college landscape is constantly changing and evolving, having friends and family that you can always rely on is permanent. They say, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." I think I will be able to live with that.

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