May 1, 2015. 6:47 p.m. I’m sitting at a red light on my way home from the gym, jamming out to "All Eyes" by Imagine Dragons, the soon-to-be setting sun beating down on me through my open window, with my foot slightly pressed against the brake, wishing for the light to turn green. After what had seemed to be an eternity, the light turned and I hurled down the street ONLY to catch the NEXT red light! At this point I was drenched with sweat from my gruesome workout, smelled like a landfill and just wanted to be home so I could take an extensively long, cold shower.
At the next light I became antsy. Looking around, I noticed a white Prius that was stopped directly in front of me with every imaginable bumper sticker known to mankind plastered all over its backside. Ultimately only one stuck out and was more prominent than the rest. The sticker read: "The Bad News Is Time Flies. But The Good News Is You’re the Pilot." Not thinking anything of it, at the next road I took a right and proceeded to pull up into my drive. I went upstairs, took a shower and continued with my nightly routine.
For the next month the quote circumvolved my head and didn’t seem to dissipate. In the mist of finals, it wasn’t exactly on the top of my to-do list to pinpoint how the quote on the sticker applied to me or where it fit into my life, but it didn’t seem to want to leave me alone either, popping into my brain every chance it got. Quickly becoming vexatious, after finals were over, and I was capable of doing more than just going through the motions of living and breathing school, I sat down to digest what had been on my mind, and BOOM, like a freight train, it hit me! TIME IS EVERYTHING!
For as long as I can remember, I have always known what I wanted to do, who I was, who I wanted to be, and I have had my entire life basically mapped out on a piece of paper. If you were to read any of my old diaries from when I was a child, you would be bound to find plans for travel, places to see, things to do, people to meet, which schools to attend, what degrees to pursue and even the arrangements for my own wedding (though yet to this day, I have yet to have a boyfriend). I am a planner and a preparer, that’s what I do and who I am. But as I ponder and reminisce about my high school years, it brings nothing but pure joy and smiles to my face. It brings back memories of how innocent, carefree, reckless and worrisome I was. That was a time in my life that I cherish so dearly and will keep forever close to my heart.
In the moment, those four years seemed like an eternity that I never imagined was going to end. Going to the same places, having the same friends, doing the same things on a regular basis became tedious the more time went on, but looking back now, boy, was I wrong! Those four SHORT years of my life, I will never be able to get back, even if I wanted to. I rushed through my high school days thinking I just wanted to get out and be done. I wanted to begin the next chapter in my life and experience new things, not realizing that I was taking those four short years for granted! Never again would I live with my parents. Never again would I have nightly home-cooked meals. Never again would I have my parents in my corner reminding me right from wrong and giving advice when I messed things up. Never again would I have anything the same, just the way I was used to.
When getting to college everything changed. I had to get use to paying bills, living on my own, cleaning daily, cooking meals, maintaining a job (eventually multiple), keeping up with school, and so much more. Before I knew it, I woke up realizing I am a senior. In a blink of an eye, I turned 18, then 21 and now I am a senior. Sometimes that still doesn’t even register with me, but as I look back on these past three years I wouldn’t change a single thing. Yes, time has come and gone quicker than I have wanted it to, but I have been in complete control, enjoying every single last moment.
Up until my last semester, I was completely bummed that I still have multiple years left in school, but when I sat down to digest what that bumper sticker meant, I had an awakening. These past three years in college have been some of the best years of my life. I want to soak up every last minute I possibly can without wasting a minute of it, I want to be worry-free and just take life as it hits me, and most of all I don’t want to make the same mistake I did in high school of rushing my way through it.
College students truly don’t realize how blessed they really are, until they sit back and think about what lies ahead in their futures. We have our whole lives, once we get out of college, to fall in love, have families, pursue careers, build homes, have big girl/boy toys, so why rush it? Spend this time experimenting with new things, traveling to new places, taking classes that intrigue you that aren’t in your curriculum, meeting and socializing with new people. This is the time in your life where you can still have no worries or doubts, so why not take full advantage while you can?
Be the pilot to your own story, because college is going to come and go faster than you realize, and this time of being carefree and reckless isn't going to last forever.
