College flies by, and who is better to attest to this than two soon-to-be graduating Collegiettes?
Abby Lawton:
I remember my freshman move-in day like it was yesterday. I remember being nervous – nervous about change, classes, sharing a room with a complete stranger, and what I was going to do with my time here. Now here I am, finishing my last semester of college, ever. I never believed my older siblings when they said that college would fly by. It felt like it took forever between classes, homework, working, and being involved in organizations on campus.
It’s hard to believe that my time as an undergraduate student is soon coming to an end. You never realize how fast the days go when you’re stressed out about an exam or some assignment you waited until last minute to complete. In my 4 years here, I’d like to say I accomplished a lot. I made new friends, sisters, memories, and more importantly, I pushed myself in ways I never thought I could. It feels like just yesterday I received a bid of membership into my sorority and now have held 3 positions within my chapter and Panhellenic executive board. It feels like I just met my roommate even though we’ve been living together for almost two years. I feel like I should be back standing in the academic and career planning office telling my advisor that I’m changing my major, even though I wasn’t so sure if I was making the right decision or that it was what I wanted. I’ve challenged myself to become a better person, experience new things, and hit several bumps along the way. It’s crazy to think I used to talk to my family about how I had only 3 or 2 years left and now I’m down to about 3 months of college. Within a blink of an eye, 3 years turned into 3 months. It’s a mix of emotions and feelings – happiness, accomplishment, sadness, stress, and bittersweetness.
As I am writing this, honestly, I begin to feel like a huge weight is about to be lifted off my shoulders thinking of being done and graduated. But whether you’re reading this and you’re a freshman, sophomore, or even a junior, enjoy the years you have/have left and make sure you make the most of it. You’ll hear people say that it is what you make it and they’re right. Take chances, opportunities, or whatever comes your way because it’ll teach you something and create a memory that will last forever. And before you know, you’ll be in my position, feeling like you just started your college career but in reality, you’re actually thinking of how you’re going to decorate your graduation cap.
Brittany Thomas:
Four (or five) years certainly do go fast. One minute you are unpacking your things to decorate your freshman dorm while you wait to meet your very first college roommate and the next thing you know…you’re researching how to decorate your graduation cap. Some people will tell you that high school is that fastest four years of your life and then you go off to college and start the “real world”. But I think they are wrong. High school goes faster than you can say diploma but college flashes before your eyes quicker than a blink. College is different for everyone; joining different clubs, meeting new people, and experiencing new things. Regardless of what you make of your college career it truly does fly by.
The mind of a college student is excited and intrigued by all things college but towards break is excited to go home and visit with friends from home but it soon fades and all you want to do is come back to college and be with all the new friends you made up here. We all itch for summer break but one month in, we are all dying to come back to school. It’s an endless cycle of wanting to be here, needing a break (that’s long enough but not too long), then wanting to be back. We don’t realize how freeing and fun college can be until we are away from it, which I think is what makes it go by so much faster than high school. In high school, the routine was always the same. School, extracurriculars, outside school life but then always coming home or just being in your hometown. Either way, you were always close to home if not actually home. College becomes your home away from home. As an old Resident Coordinator once said to me, “college is your home with a lowercase h”.
I would definitely call Behrend my home away from home – my home with a lowercase h. I have joined a handful of clubs, holding positions in each club. I have met some of my very best friends that I know will become lifelong friends. I have met my (shorter) twin, sister, best friend and roommate all in one person. I have experienced new things and left my comfort zone. But most importantly, I have grown into the person I want and like to be.
As many of us wind down and wrap up our college careers with this being our last semester here, I think it is important to start reflecting on our experience and enjoying our last few months as college students.
It’s amazing how fast college goes – enjoy it while it lasts.
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