2016 has been a year filled with new experiences. It is the year I saw St. Lawrence for the first time and fell in love with it. It is the year I graduated from high school and said emotional goodbyes to the faculty and coaches who had shaped me during my four years of high school. It is the year I spent my summer working in the oceans of Maine for the first time without my brother, before I left the state to go to college. 2016 is the year I reached a childhood dream of playing college lacrosse, and the year I attended my first division one hockey game. It is the year I turned eighteen, and the year I was able to vote for the first time. Looking back on the year so far, 2016 was a pretty great one, and I’m thankful I got to experience it! -Brooke
2016 is the year I also graduated from high school, and it was one that shaped me into someone I never thought I could be. This year hosted one of the best summers of my life, which was filled with music festivals, making coffee, and spending time with my closest friends before we all parted ways for university. 2016 is the year I realized that I could survive going to school over 1,000 miles away from some of my best friends. It is the year I truly realized how special St. Lawrence is, and that there is a reason I am the third child in my family to attend. Overall, 2016 was really good to me! -Chelsea
But none of these experiences are the true reason why we have decided not to rush through the last precious days of 2016. People constantly say how excited they are for the New Year to arrive, and just how badly they wish 2016 would come to a close. In reality, the only thing that will change on January 1st are the last two numbers that will be written on the top of each page of notes taken in class. We want to live each day fully, because the happiness that accompanies living in the moment doesn’t come and go the way the celebration of a New Year does. Honestly, there is a strong chance that at this time next year, people will be talking about their excitement for 2017 to be over, and the cycle will repeat itself.
2016 had its ups and downs, and that is why it has been so special and why we plan on holding onto every last moment of it. Although there are only a couple of weeks left, there is still plenty of time to make a few more lasting memories and to reflect, not dwell, on the past. 2016 was a pretty great year, and it’s not too late to make it that much better. So we’ve decided not to rush through the end of 2016, because it’s not over just yet. Every day counts, so let’s make the most of it!