Appreciate what you have

Senioritis is a word that is often thrown around from the mouths of students nearing the end of their college career. Senioritis can even be heard coming from freshman who are already eager to leave their college days behind just as they’re beginning.

I am a senior this semester and I am not having the slightest symptom of senioritis. In fact, I am reluctant to say goodbye to FMU. I realize there are not many college students who aren’t in a hurry to get out of school and move on to the next part of life, whatever it might be.

I believe that college is an amazing and fleeting part of life and its value is often overlooked. College is so much more than just taking classes and getting a degree. College has offered so many opportunities that I would never have had otherwise. My time here at FMU has given me some of the closest friends and the most laughter-filled nights. FMU has given me a strong community that shares a common goal. It not only has a strong academic community, but also offers fun activities that often come with free food. I have gotten to travel to places I have never even heard of before. I have learned a lot in class, but I’ve also learned a lot more about myself than I thought I would in a class. There are not many places that have all these amazing attributes packed into one.

College is like a sandbox where I get to test my dreams and fix the holes before I set sail. Good advice is hard to come by, but with professors and mentors by my side as I find my way, good advice is always close at hand. Good friends of mine who have graduated before me said they wish they would have appreciated their time at FMU and taken advantage of what they had before it was over. Maybe they are the reason I feel the way I do now, but maybe not. I was raised to live in the moment and make the most of where I am.

Don’t get me wrong, I know college is hard and frustrating in so many ways as well. I am no stranger to all-nighters, and I have shed many tears over test grades. The struggles of college are great, and they are not to be dismissed. I work two jobs, try to get good grades and maybe see my friends once a week, which basically means there is no room for sleep.

In the grand scheme of things, four years is not a terribly long time, which lends itself to being taken for granted with no time left after you realize it. The hard times are tough, but the good times are even better. When I talk to my friends who’ve graduated, they always talk about how they even miss the mundane things they thought they hated at the time. When you graduate or hear a graduate speak, it’s easy to look back on your time and see that, even though college challenges you more than anything else, the highlights far outweigh the bad.

All that being said, when graduation day comes, I hope all of us will be able to look back on our college days and say that we lived every moment of it. Four years of intense life experiences filled with first times and adventure; don’t waste it wishing it would be over.