Sooooo I’m a senior in college right now. Scary. As I finish up my final fall semester at the University of New Hampshire, it’s starting to sink in just how real everything is about to get. Next semester will be my last one and then I’ll be released into the real world – whatever that means. I’ll be looking for a big girl job and trying to find an apartment. I’ll have to start paying off my student loans and figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s all so daunting and I want to be able to enjoy my last few months as a college student without constantly stressing about the future. So, I’ve come up with a few mantras and pieces of advice from my mom that I’ll be reminding myself of daily as I enter into my last days as a college student.
1. Cherish every moment
Romanticize your walk to class, drinks at the bars, finding your car in the parking lot, all of it. You’ll miss those mundane moments that may seem insignificant now. Look at the trees, watch the leaves fall, and take mental pictures of everything.
2. Don’t sweat the small stuff
Friend has one-sided beef with you? Stubbed your toe this morning? Late handing in an assignment? Boy left you on open? Breathe. It’s okay. None of these things will matter in a few short months. Just live and focus on what’s most important to you.
3. Recognize who your true friends are and spend as much time with them as possible
I met my best friends in college and currently live with two of them and I’m beginning to realize that I won’t always be able to walk five steps and knock on their door anymore. I won’t always be able to text them for coffee or drinks. I won’t always be able to ask them to borrow clothes or how to reply to something a boy sent me. Spend as much time with the people who make you feel happiest and who bring out the best version of you as you can.
4. Be proud of yourself
When you graduate college, none of those bad quiz grades or that C- you got freshman year will matter anymore. You’ll have your degree and know that you put in the work to get where you are now. You did it. You made it through four tough years of higher education and you came out on the other side smiling, despite it all. Be proud of that achievement and never shut up about it.