Every fall I get nostalgic for college. I usually give in to the impulse to sign up for an adult learning class. I think last year it was jewelry making. The year before, we lived in the middle of nowhere, so I took an online course. Now that I'm working at a large university, my college nostalgia is mostly satisfied by just being at work forty hours a week.

Despite my (undiagnosed) depression, I really loved college. I cried for about half an hour after my parents left me at my dorm and went...