It amazes me how much college changes us. We all showed up to Preview as recently graduated high school students, excited to see all that the world has to offer us, and now some of us are adults ready to head out into the real world and chase our dreams.
One day you’re a college freshman getting ready in the dark in your dorm room because you have an early class and your roommate enjoys sleeping in. One day you’re going to your first social with your brand new sorority sisters. One day you’re eating in the dining hall deciding whether or not you should grab a second cookie before heading over to the library to do some studying.
And before you know it, you’re signing up for classes and realizing that you only need 20 more credits until graduation. Before you know it, you’re planning your final spring break vacation with your friends. Before you know it, you’re thinking about what you want to spend the rest of your life doing.
It’s amazing how four years can completely change our lives. We come to college so young and curious about what it will be like to live in a city that our parents don’t live in. Time flies so fast that we haven’t even realized we’ve been growing up.
One day you look into the mirror and see a curious freshman college student gazing back at you, and the next day you see a woman ready to take on the world. I decided to write this article because just last week this occurrence happened to me. I had just woken up and had walked over to my mirror to start getting ready for another crazy and busy day. In my sleepy state I looked into my mirror and realized that something had changed. I looked different — not dramatically different, but in a way I did look older. Yes, I’m the same height that I was freshman year, but something about me was different. I suddenly realized that I had been growing up these past four years without even realizing it.
We become so busy with our difficult classes and spending time with our friends that we forget to just look in the mirror and realize we have changed. When we look in the mirror, it’s usually to do our hair or fix our makeup. We never have the time to reflect on what’s different.
Some people think we grow up in high school, but I say we grow up in college. There wasn’t too big of a difference between myself and my outlook on life throughout my freshman to senior years of high school. I now see life entirely different this year than I did during my freshman year at UF. I’ve lived abroad and traveled the world. I’m now excited to start my life outside of college and see all that I am able to accomplish. I’m ready for the future. During my freshman year, I wouldn’t have been able to say any of these things. I had no plans of where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do with my life back then. I thought I had all of the time in the world to experience college, and I didn’t give too much thought about what would come after. Now, I realize just how quickly the college journey goes and that it is only a stepping stone on the path of our lives.
So take a look in the mirror every once in a while and really see yourself. Appreciate all of the time you have in college because it’ll be over before you even realize it.
Photo credit: sororitysugar.tumblr.com