I know this statement is nothing new for underclassmen’s ears. In fact, it’s pretty generic, but it is true. As you get older and more acclimated to your environment, time does seem to slip by faster. You go to sleep a freshman, and you wake up a senior. As you get older, I’ve noticed that you’re no longer fascinated by the small details of your life, mostly because those details are very familiar to you, especially when you fall into routine. But, changes in your environment, such as a new job, new school, etc., do tend to slow things down a bit, but it serves as just a pit stop on the ever-hastening march that is the time of your life.
And honestly, four years is not that large of an amount of time. Sure, it seems like that, especially when we’re acclimated to accept five years of elementary school, three years of middle school, four years of high school (though many have different high and middle school setups than this) and four years of undergraduate studies – four years seems like a worthy block of time, and indeed, you can accomplish a lot in that amount of time, but when measured up to the average American lifespan, not so much.
Yet it is fascinating to see how far I’ve grown since the Fall of 2014, when I came to MCLA as a freshman, full of hopes and optimism for what would be my new home for the next four years. I guess in a way, college did its job, I learned and I grew, even if the road was hectic at times, but sometimes hectic can be a good thing, if you learn from it.
For me, at least, the years when time seemed to go by the slowest was freshman and sophomore year, but those were also the years I was the least ambitious. My schedule was not packed to the brim with work, classes and clubs, when I had an abundance of free time, and relatively little cares in the world. I have a few years to figure the whole college thing out, and I wasn’t doing that badly – Dean’s list, in fact – though I always had this drive to do more, and I viewed that free time as a waste of time. Now I view it as a treat.
I’m glad that I rose to the leadership positions that I did during college, and I’m proud of my accomplishments. At a school like MCLA, it isn’t hard to slide into prominent positions, if you have the drive, and that’s good. You are paying to go to school, so why not do something with your four years? But it is also important to treasure your free time, and don’t overload yourself if you can help it. On one hand, seize opportunity when it is given, but also know when to say “no.” Because at the end of the day, all the professional merit in the world won’t make you happy. That comes from somewhere else.
College is only four years long for most people. Enjoy it. You might not realize it, but you could be living some of your best memories, right now.