Like it or not, as many of us are realizing, the school year is coming to an end. Though some students are still recovering from Spring Break, most are preparing for the home stretch — the last month of cramming for exams and quizzes and catching up on unwatched lectures. Some of our fellow students will be doing this for the last time.
Many of my upperclassmen friends describe college as a quintessential part of being a young person. They say students have the ability to grow into the independent people of tomorrow while still being grounded in a familiar, consistent environment. You are a ways from home yet still depend on your parents for rent, tuition and upping your credit card balance.
Before we focus on our future, let’s discuss our time at this institute of higher education.
College has helped us come into our own. UF has a lot to offer by means of academics and life experiences. With our vaunted party school perception, many people know what to do and where to go on Saturday nights. Others seek refuge in Library West near the Starbucks line. Or, if you want to combine the two, many people find themselves waiting in the line for Starbucks and knowing what to do on a Saturday night.
As the next month draws to a close, it will be a time of heartfelt goodbyes and sad farewells. But more importantly, it will be a time of hopeful new beginnings.
Freshman year allowed scared, self-conscious new students to begin anew — a time to surround themselves with people who are just meeting them for the first time.
Our seniors will be entering the same situation. They will be the new face in the office having to learn people’s names and learn the ropes. As scared and self-conscious as incoming freshmen?
Absolutely.
With the tearful goodbyes and promising new starts on the horizon, you have to ask yourself: What has college done for me? Have I taken full advantage of my time at this university? Has skipping class and every office hour negatively affected my future? Has studying too much hurt my social abilities? Is it too late to do something new?
The reason I am writing this column now as opposed to in April when school ends is to stress that there is still time to live out your college experience.
The truth is, you will not have an experience similar to the one you have partaken in for the last few years.
Enjoy it while it lasts, and live it to its finality.
For many of us, it is far too easy to get caught up in the moment and stress too much and too often.
The simplest of pleasures, from reading outside and relaxing in the stands under the shade in the Swamp to huge social events — like the ones that pop up during Halloween and Spring Break — are all part of the college experience.
Live those experiences to the fullest.
Enjoy them while you can.
And though we will no doubt remember the times we had at this university and realize we still have time to make a few new ones, we will have one tangible possession to keep with us for a long time to come and to remind ourselves of our time as young students: the crushing amount of debt we’ve accrued. With that in mind, ask yourself, “Was my college experience worth it for me?”
If you answered “no,” ask yourself: “Is there still time left to change that?”
[Michael Beato is a UF economics sophomore. His columns appear on Wednesdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 3/26/2014 under the headline "Make the most out of the UF experience"]
