Being a junior in college, I can say that I have learned a lot. I have learned the value in going to my professor’s office hours. I have learned the value in friendships that you make in college and so much more. However, one thing that is constantly screaming out at me is that college is all about making the most out of your time and experiencing the world.
One of the beauties about college is that we’re young. The opportunities are endless and there’s truly no end to where they come from. It is really cool because the world is our oyster at this age. I find that my only limitation is money, but even with that I can still go out and have amazing experiences.
My mindset when it comes to life is that I am only young once and I am only an undergrad in college once. There won’t ever be another time where I am truly free from commitments. Honestly, when will I get 5 months of the year to do whatever I want? When will I get to live on a campus with people who around the same age as me going through similar-ish experiences? When will I get to do things spontaneously just for the sake of doing them after college? Almost definitely never again. The only time is college and I have 4 years to explore my interests, passions, and the list goes on. I will never get these 4 years back and I want to make the most out of my time here.
College is so expensive, so why not make the most out of it? Why not fill this time with experiences that will give me lifelong memories and stories to tell people? Why not fill this time with priceless memories and excitement? There is a high chance that I might never get this experience again and I want to make the most out of it. Don’t get me wrong, studying is important and getting those good grades is important. However, so is living life. We only have one chance to make these kinds of memories.
Part of making those memories is hanging out with friends. Last year, so many of my favorite memories come from me hanging out with my friends until the middle of the night. One time, me and my friend decided to get Insomnia Cookies while on our way back to North Campus from our other friends’ dorm. Then we bombarded another friend and I ended up playing Fortnight for the first time. I didn’t come in last and that’s all that matters considering I had no idea what I was doing.
Other times I would be hanging out with my friends and we all got hungry, so we drove and got McDonalds late at night. It’s these kinds of moments that remind me of pure happiness and that are priceless. Could I have been doing other things like sleeping or studying? Yes, but there will always be an exam to study for, a paper to write (I have all of those things to do right now), I could always drink coffee to make up for my lack of sleep, but there won’t always be another opportunity to go to McDonalds in the middle of the night with my friends. I won’t always have the ability to be like “Want to go for a drive?” to one of my friends at midnight on a Friday night. We ended up driving around for an hour telling stories, giving advice, and easily turned one of the worst nights of my life into one of the best nights.
College is the place to get these once in a lifetime experiences. When is another time would anyone be down to go on a spontaneous road trip to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania in the middle of the night before my friend had 2 quizzes? When is another time I get to study abroad for 2 weeks on the opposite side of the world? When will I have another chance to go on a service trip with people, I don’t know at all, but that are still in my community? Honestly, probably never again. All of these memories are some of my favorite memories, and they came from experiences.
College is all about experiences regardless of whether or not they were a smart decisions. They will lead to a great story and in my eyes that tops any grade or loss of sleep. Go out and experience the world!
Katie DeBois
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