Remember the old story All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten – the one that details thing like “share” and “say you’re sorry” and the ever-important “flush”? I think back on all the times I heard that story at summer camp, and I remember thinking what useful lessons those were (and how funny it was that the author said “flush”).
Now, as I look back on my four years of college, I see a potential amendment to that story: “All I Ever Really Needed to Know about Living Life to the Fullest I Learned in College.” And from my own personal experiences, which I consider not divine truths but merely strong observations, I learned this:
Find something you love to do.We have a tendency to want to do everything – to spread ourselves too thinly. Find what you really like to do and dedicate yourself to that.
Give yourself space. Live with friends, but maintain other friendships as well. You’ll better appreciate your time with your roommates (or any friends, really) if you all spend some time apart.
Learn something new.You may know what you want your major to be, but leave yourself time for an art class, a drama class, a PE class – something you can do for pleasure.
Say yes. Never say no to an outing or a fun time just because you “don’t feel like it.” The worst that can happen is that you don’t have fun. But the best that can happen is that you do have fun and don’t spend the next day regretting what you missed.
Don’t neglect your girlfriends for a boy.Girlfriends are the best – and most consistent – things you get out of college.
Go on adventures.There is so much more outside Charlottesville. Don’t wait until your last month of fourth year, when you’re trying to do everything on your list of 100+ things to do before graduation, to try everything.
Dance. And never feel subconscious, because everyone looks just as silly, and people really aren’t watching you as much as you think.
Flush. As many times as you need to.
Don’t make empty promises. Don’t make “let’s get lunch sometime” the new “bye.” Say it when you mean it – and then make it happen.
Treat yourself.Take a nap. Have a snack. Get dessert. Take a break from studying.
Embrace failure.Not everything will work out just the way you want it. But something else always comes along. (Sidenote: A “B” is not a failure.).
That time you spent in the library or that grade you got on a paper will mean nothing ten years from now. But that time you took a Greyhound bus to DC; that time you got in a mud fight on a rainy night; that time you had a picnic on the lawn; that time you went rollerblading inside U-hall; that time you stayed up all night talking with your best friend – all those hypothetical times are what you’ll take with you when you leave and keep with you for years to come.
And so I leave you with my one last parting thought: to make the most of your time here, try to make good grades, but all the while recognize that the most important things you can make here are friendships and memories. So Robert Fulghum was right: it is still very true that “no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”