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College is the time of your life.
My dad always said this, but I never truly understood his words until now.
College is living two minutes from all of your best friends. College is yoga pants and sweatshirts because no one cares. College is drinking coffee after dinner because the exam is tomorrow and the night is young.
But half of my college career was spent wishing the semester would end. And now that I’ve only got one more semester left to dread, I realize the journey was nothing but a blast. When will I live in the same city as all of my friends? When will I have the opportunity to learn new information (though sometimes boring or confusing) every single day? When will my commute to work (aka class) be a 10-minute walk?
And the answer is simply: never again.
College is once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sure, some parts were hard; I did not always love my roommates. I did not always appreciate my professors or classes. There were days where all I wanted to do was hug my mom and pet my dog.
But college was so much more than the struggles. It was eating tater tots served to your cupped hands by President Kris Kimball. It was living in yoga pants and running shorts even though you haven’t been to the gym in weeks. It was turning in your midterm essay 10 minutes before the deadline. It was screaming at the computer as the class you wanted to register for just filled up. It was laying on the dorm room floor eating the cheapest junk food you could afford. It was petting every dog you passed on campus.
Going to college makes you into who you are. It made me into who I am. It showed me that people come from so many different walks of life. It proved that art history (with the right professor) is actually pretty cool. It taught me that true intelligence lies within a hard worker, and that it’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.
So whether you’re nearing the end, or graduation feels like a million years away, soak up everything. Enjoy the simple things. Study hard. Cheer at sports games. Eat questionable caf food with friends. The position you are in now does not last a lifetime. It’s a steppingstone to the rest of your life. So use the time you have now to become the best you. Make it count, and the memories will last a lifetime.
With love,
a graduating senior