“The best four years of your life.”
That’s what everyone tells you.
You have to sink every fiber of your being into every single activity you do
And you have to do it all.
Because you are only this young once.
You will only go to college once.
And once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Vanished forever in the fog of time.
No one tells you about the hardships, though, do they?
No one tells you about the exams, and the all-nighters you’ll pull.
No one tells you about the stress, about the breakdowns you’ll have.
No one tells you about the financial burden suddenly pressing on your shoulders.
No one tells you about the loneliness, or the heartache you’ll face.
But you know what?
College is a part of this complicated thing called life.
The hardships don’t last.
There are always points where the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen.
Like in a hurricane, where everything is being blown to hell.
There’s that small eye of the storm, that little moment of relief
That is where your favorite memories will unfold
When your roommate leaves a sticky note on your desk to encourage you when you’re ready to give up.
When you make breakfast in your pajamas without ever leaving the building.
When you dance with someone cute at a party.
When pumpkin spice lattes emerge again and become a staple in your diet as the air gets colder.
When the first snowfall comes, and the campus bursts to life in the middle of the night.
When you find that one café in town you never want to leave.
When you celebrate because you passed a test you thought you were sure to fail.
When you see the deer or turkeys when you walk to class.
When you step foot in a strange city for the first time.
When your room is vibrating with music, and you can’t help but dance around like an idiot with your best friend.
When you look over the campus on the back of that bronze stag
And you see your classmates milling about, going from one place to the other
Immersed in their own worries and stresses.
You begin to realize how time-consuming, how draining those worries can be.
Finances, academics, all of that stressful stuff is important, yeah.
But so are you.
How do you make the most of your college experience?
You smile at people around you.
You look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you are capable of great things.
You work through the hard times and shine in the good.
You savor those little moments, give them a special place in your heart,
And they will keep you grounded in this wild and wonderful life.
Leave a Reply