COLUMN: Take some time to live 'the best years of your life'
My father always told me, “high school and college are the best eight years of your life.”
That is always not the case. Sometimes you can be in school longer than you imagined. Sometimes it could be nine years, or 12 — or who knows.
What I know is — he is right. For most of us, these are our prime years. Nothing will ever get better than this.
This May, fingers crossed, I will receive my degree from Central Michigan University. I will find a job that requires me to work 40 hours a week like any other person.
And I will spend the next days, weeks, months and years reminiscing about college and what I did, and could have done.
That is why I am using my final semester at CMU to take everything in. I advise my fellow prospective graduates to do the same.
Luckily, working at Central Michigan Life has allowed me to explore the campus community throughout the last four years. But there are still a lot of things I haven’t done.
I’ve never been in the hot tub at the Student Activity Center or eaten in Robinson Residential Restaurant. I’ve never been to a play at the Bush Theatre — and I apologize. There are so many buildings I haven’t even entered.
Of course, there are different activities and events I have done. I will always love heading to the Bird Bar & Grill on a Thursday night and watching a crowd of people sprint to the bar to order their favorite $2 double, while my friend waits hours upon hours to hear “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder on the jukebox.
I will also cherish going to Wayside Central — going from wild-eyed freshman trying to have fun in 2014 to feeling like the old man at the bar as a senior.
I will make an attempt to watch the great sporting events CMU Athletics has to offer, and I want to go to some more games this year. You should also — you’re paying for it.
I want to take long strolls through campus — mainly to the Down Under Food Court to enjoy some Papa John’s Pizza.
This campus has a lot to offer in so little time. When I came to CMU in August 2014, I had a lot of ambition and wanted to see and do as much as I can. As the finish line approaches, I see myself looking back on what I could have done.
But it’s not over. As of Jan. 21, there are 14 official weeks left in the Spring 2018 semester. It is going to go by in the blink of an eye. Just think about how fast last semester blew by. For us seniors and prospective graduates, time only goes by faster.
So don’t shy away from it — but embrace it. There is going to be a time to be an adult and get a full-time job before preparing who to vote for in the 2018 elections. You can set yourself up for the post-graduate world.
But now is the time to be a kid. You are going to make mistakes: Learn from them and have some fun during your collegiate experience.
To the underclassmen reading this, be sure to relish the opportunities CMU has to offer during your time here. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.
And to the graduates, in the midst of post-graduate planning, take some time to call your friend and enjoy your final college memories together.
Don’t let your time go to waste.
These are the best years of your life.
