Life is good. Even as I watch many of my close friends traipse into the “real” world degrees in hand, even as summer draws to a close and school looms on the horizon, even as I realize this so-called four-year program is entering its sixth year, I’m loving life.
Why?
Simply because being young, more specifically being a student, is one of the most fun things in the world. We’re fit, attractive, carefree and damn it, hangovers aren’t catching up to us yet–although as I creep towards my mid-20s they stick around a while longer. What else could be better?
Sadly, this concept seems lost on too many students. The idea that school should be fun, that life should be lived, is rapidly being consumed by pressures to succeed and succeed quickly, by an increasingly competitive academic and economic world and by the belief that university is merely a stepping stone to something else. This is a terrible shame.
All too often I hear people lament their classes, saying they hate what they’re studying, just wanting to get done. Why? So you can take your piece of paper and apply all that knowledge you loathe for eight hours a day, five days a week? What’s the point? Study something you want to study, something you truly enjoy.
Do you dread getting out of bed and hiking to the engineering block for 8 a.m. class? Quit. Try something else.
Is your one primatology class more gripping than the four required English courses you need to take for your English degree? Simple. Switch your major.
Are you not feeling challenged by anything you’re studying? Is your mind always wandering, wanting to travel to exotic locales the world over? Then leave. See the world while you’re still young, it will never look the same as it does right now.
Too many people lock themselves in, they use the "well, I’m only 12 classes away from a BComm" excuse to justify putting their dreams or passions on hold. Why? Are you worried you won’t be able to make a down payment on a house when you’re 23? God forbid you have to wait until you’re 28.
I’ve changed majors three times, I’ve taken off traveling a trio of times, I’ve withdrawn from three classes in one semester because I was miserable taking them, I’ve accumulated $15,000 in debt. And you know what? It wasn’t the end of the world, I’ve actually loved every second of it.
Live your life right now, in the present, because the future will happen in due time. Besides, regrets are much more difficult to reconcile than mistakes.
Enjoy the year!