Like the other 11,000 students at Marquette, I was thrilled when the snow day e-mail popped up in my inbox. Facebook blew up with statuses of sheer excitement at the prospect of no class and, for some, it was the first snow day they ever experienced.

Some students relished the thought of doing absolutely nothing. Others saw it as an opportunity to catch up on some homework.  I saw it as an opportunity to catch up on experiences the university system fails to provide.

Between my job and the work assigned to me by my professors, I hardly have an opportunity to read a newspaper, visit the art museum or read a book that has nothing to do with political science or colonialism. While we are given the opportunity to choose our majors that will land us in a job market we are interested in, I think the university system can sometimes smother us rather than let us explore our passions and the world around us.

Of course, I love journalism, otherwise I would never voluntarily spend four years of my life living and breathing all things communication. But what about all the other things I love to do? Does college offer an opportunity to explore those? Or have I merely become a pawn in the game of “who can go to the best college and get the best job?”

In the 1960s, the rebellious counter-cultural revolution took the United States by storm.

Twenty-something-year-olds dropped what they were doing, packed into a van and headed west to experience life. Now, I am by no means promoting the “who gives a darn” lifestyle that these longhaired, hippie folks lived. But I bring it up to make another point: college students’ interests are stifled.

I bet when asked about what is going on in Egypt right now, more than a few college students would respond with something along the lines of, “Isn’t there something about some riots and a revolution?”

We are not dumb people by any means. But there is something about college that makes us a little ignorant of the world around us. It puts us in the academic bubble, making it really hard to escape.

It’s not a conspiracy theory, just the natural outcome of cramming so much into our schedules that we can hardly breathe. Or have any idea what’s going on around us.

And the worst part? We begin to feel guilty for doing anything not related to our classes. That moment on Wednesday when I chose to pick up a novel instead of a textbook had me feeling like I was committing a crime, punishable only by bad grades and a slightly lower GPA. But hey, in my eyes, it was completely acceptable and justifiable.

Pursuing interests outside of the Monday through Friday academic push should not make you hang your head. Rather, you should realize that classes aren’t the only source of education. A lot can be learned from going out and experiencing the world.

Take that hour to read the news, catch up on the latest from your favorite blog, visit the hipsters at Comet Café or read that article in “Vanity Fair” you’ve been meaning to read.

There’s nothing wrong with it. Yes, go to class, yes, do your homework. But realize there is more to furthering yourself than grades and getting those 300 pages of class reading done in time.

Don’t let college life stifle you. After all, it’s a lot harder to sneak in that art museum visit when you have a 9-to-5 job.