There aren’t enough words to describe the feeling you get when you realize that it’s your last semester in college. It’s crazy, right? You graduated from high school a little over 3 years ago and you thought that was weird to say to people, and now you’re creeping closer to the end of your college career. You’ve might’ve heard the saying that time passes quicker the older you get. You notice you’ve become a lot busier than you were before and you wonder where your free time went, if you had enough of it, or if you even had any free time to begin with.
The end of your college career can be the most bittersweet part you’ll ever experience in college. You might’ve already started thinking about the friends you want to keep in touch with forever. Maybe you’re already seeing yourselves being friends 10 years from now. You might even be thinking about the people you’ll never interact with again, and nothing else can excite you more (admit it, we all have at least that one person we’d love to never see again after graduation). Regardless of how you feel about leaving, you should realize that you’re not the same person you were when you stepped onto campus when you were 18 or 19 years old. And the fact is, things will continue to change after graduation. So while you have a couple of months left or even if you’re graduating a semester later than anticipated, you need to make the most of your last semester.
Attend Campus Events
I’ve spoken to a few people who graduated last spring and I found out that the one thing they commonly regretted was not attending as many school events. Even if you don’t consider yourself as someone with a lot of school spirit, having that vibe will be something you won’t get to experience the same way after you graduate. So go attend those basketball games, baking events and fundraising events on campus. It will all be different when you attend these events as an alumnus!
Thank Your Professors
Whether or not we want to admit this, all of our professors have impacted us in some way. Maybe some more positively than others, but every professor has left their mark on you in some way, even those who may have made you realize that you might not really be fit for the career path you’re headed towards. Take some time out to visit those few important professors to thank them for however they have guided or influenced you, which ultimately contributed to those times when you had to make career choices for yourself.
Apply to Internships
Plans change all the time. You don’t even know if you’ll change your mind again about what you want to do after graduation! Apply to everything that appeals to you because it’s just better to apply and find out if you had the chance rather than thinking an opportunity will come by again.
Spend More Time with Your Friends
Think back to your group of friends that you always spent time with in high school. There’s a chance you might be friends with half of the people in that group today, or maybe even less. Whichever the case may be, most of you definitely made a bunch of new friends in college. The truth is, you might not even know where you and your college friends will be 5 years from now. Maybe you’ll move out of state, maybe you’ll lose contact with some of these people. Be sure to appreciate the moments you have with your friends during your last semester and remind them of how grateful you are to have met them here.
It’s odd for me to be writing this considering I’m currently a senior who will be graduating this May. Each time the topic of graduation gets brought up, it just doesn’t seem real yet. And quite honestly, it might not even feel real the day of graduation. All I know is, that graduation is a turning point in everyone who is involved in your life: friends, family, and even professors that you’ve connected with over time. The best possible thing I could suggest is to find the things and people that bring good vibes to your life during your last semester. Take the time to truly appreciate these moments and individuals, and most importantly, be proud of the person you’ve become as a result of your college journey.